The Subject of Inkbottles
by Missing Summer
Summary: Thinking back to first year, Lily Evans has no choice but to realize that what started this mess was an inkbottle. This horrible, beautiful, terrible, life changing mess... MWPP era
1. Prelude

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers. Thanks for reading...

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**The Subject of Inkbottles **

**Chapter 1: **Prelude

Thinking back to her first year, Lily Evans had no choice but to realize that what started this mess was an inkbottle. This horrible, beautiful, terrible, life-changing mess was begun by an inkbottle. A simple inkbottle, with black ink, bought at Flourish and Blotts the summer before.

This particular inkbottle had had it's contents poured upon a certain redhead's aforementioned "red head". And along with her hair, came her temper. And that temper was now being directed at the ink pourer; James Potter. And unfortunately for his friends, by association, that same crazed temper soon spread over to them as well.

**FLASHBACK**

--

Lily Evans was furious. _What the hell does that boy think he is doing?_ Her deep red hair was now turned even darker by the black ink dripping down her curls. She spun around to face James Potter, the fool who had done the pouring. His friends all around him, chuckling like the children they were, all turned silent when they saw her seething face.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" She yelled in indignation. Potter's face was stripped of its usual grin, momentarily, until he regained his trademark composure.

"It appears to me that you have spilled your ink, dear Lilykins. Would you like me to help you clean that up?" he said innocently. His friends erupted into nervous chuckles, as they now realized that Lily Evans was a nothing if not loaded cannon. And James Potter was the fuse.

"YOU BLOODY PRAT!" she roared, shooting out of her seat, wand at the ready. Unfortunately for Lily, who was about the get the revenge that she saw due, Professor Minerva McGonagall stopped her halfway through a powerful Bat-Bogey Hex.

"Miss Evans! I should think that you would know what the proper behavior is within a classroom! Control yourself! Another outburst like this, and your first year at Hogwarts may very well be your last!" She cried, thin-lipped and sour-faced as always.

Lily huffed, and returned to her seat. And because McGonagall was giving her dirty looks, she decided that she would apologize. Although she would certainly not be sincere.

"Sorry Potter." she spat. He smiled devilishly.

"S'not a problem Evans. Anyway, I'm sure there is _something _you can do to make it up to me..." He said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Lily's face flew into a blush, and she struggled for words. And once she found them; James was on the floor with a powerful leg-locker curse, and Lily was getting her very first detention.

--

**END OF FLASHBACK**

And so, that was the beginning of their hatred of each other. They were rude, they were uncouth, and they were dangerous. He turned her hair green; she sent a Jelly Legs Jinx his way. She pushed his face into his cereal; he made her levitate throughout one school day. Other students learned to run the opposite way if both of them were in the same room. Silencing charms were one of the most used charms in Gryffindor Tower, in order for the other residents to actually sleep through the night. And that was the way they were, the way things were, for the next five years. And it seemed as if nothing would ever change. Until one day...

--

I loved writing this, and I hope you love reading it.

Reviews are welcome, and always appreciated.

Love,

--Missing Summer


	2. Staring, Quidditch, and Scowls

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers. Thanks for reading...

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**Chapter 2: **Staring, Quidditch, and Scowls

It was the November of Lily Evans and James Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lily and James had continued their first year rivalry, and it continued to grow at a rate that somewhat alarmed the other Gryffindor Sixth Years. It was a rivalry that spread throughout their schoolwork, after-class activities, Common Room time, and nearly every other area of their lives.

They were each other's equals in so many ways, yet they were different in just as many. They were both at the very top of their year, although the ways in which they each went about it was sorely different. James seemed to not study at all, yet his grades were undeniably impeccable. Lily, however, openly studied constantly; in the Gyrffindor Commons, in the Great Library, and even in her dormitory, tucked between her crimson sheets in her beloved four-poster bed. They were also similar in more obvious ways as well. Of course they were both Sixth Year Gryffindors, and harboured the many valuable qualities that come with that title--bravery, strength, and deep loyalty. But the relationships that they forged with the friends they found along their journey through Hogwarts, were very similar as well.

Since her first year, Lily had acquired three close friends, all of them girls who shared a dormitory with her. Their names were; Tessa Barclay, Brianna Richards, and Raina Gilbert. Tessa had deep hazel eyes, and dirty blonde hair. She was short, to be perfectly blunt. She wasn't far off a meter in height , with slightly tanned skin, and an energy that was perfectly unmistakable. Brianna--or Bri as she liked to be called--had deep black hair, and heavily guarded dark brown eyes. She was the Quidditch player of the group. And now Raina. She was truly interesting. Pale, long blonde hair, nearly white in the sunlight. And just as pale blue eyes. She was so light, in weight and in appearance, that she seemed as if she would just float away if you did not hold on tight enough. But when you heard her voice, you lost that impression. It was deep; it gave you the feeling of thick honey sliding down your throat. It was reassuring, but could carry a dangerous edge if you angered her… as the Marauders usually did. They, like James' Marauders had become fairly wrapped up in the rivalry of Lily and James, and often found themselves aiding in the planning and execution of the many and frequent exploits of the two warring classmates.

The Marauders, as James' friends called themselves, especially Sirius Black, played a major part in the execution and production of the elaborate pranks that James pulled on Lily and her friends. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were James' closest friends, those whom he considered absolutely indispensable--his brothers. Sirius Black had a joyful face. Nearly always smiling, unless confronted by Severus Snape, his truly gorgeous face radiated with happiness, although his grey eyes were usually covered by his long black hair. Remus Lupin had crew-cut sand coloured hair, which allowed his "golden boy" features to show through. He had sweet blue eyes that held the warmth that he was so usually showing to those around him. He was the thinker of the group. Although all four boys were relatively smart, some exceptionally so, he was the one who thought up all their schemes, usually centered upon Lily and her friends. Peter Pettigrew was the last of the four, and by far the least interesting. It was easy to gaze right over his plain brown hair and watery blue eyes. It seemed that the only reason that people even noticed Peter was because of the company he kept--no matter how cruel that may seem. Together, they were the "evil masterminds" of Hogwarts, and succeeded in giving everyone a laugh once in a while, either by pranking Lily, or, less frequently, unlucky others. All at Hogwarts, including the teachers, seemed to love them. Except of course, Lily Evans and her friends.

When the Marauders pranked anyone among Lily's close-knit group, they all retaliated. Both older and younger students were afraid to be stuck in the middle of one of their legendary fights. Hexes and curses flew, resulting in Madam Pomfrey being regularly visited by one or more members of the two groups of friends (or "armies"--as some called them in Common Room whispers). The Gryffindor Commons was constantly the stage for one of Lily's famous shouting matches with James. It seemed as though it would never end…

--

"Can you make yourself love? Can you make yourself be loved?"

--Anne Brashaw, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

--

It was the last Friday in November, 1976. Lily, James, and friends, were knee-deep in Sixth Year work, struggling through NEWT level preparations and Apparation training, and they all had an enormously bleak exam in Defense Against the Dark Arts the coming Monday. So of course, on this grey, rainy night, Lily Evans had ditched her three friends, and had holed herself up in her favourite corner of the Gryffindor Common Room. She let it be widely known that she would hex anyone who disturbed her far into the next century. This threat even pertained to her boyfriend of four weeks, Gideon Prewett. He wasn't even allowed to come anywhere near her for the rest of the night. Therefore, he resignedly was sitting over with Frank Longbottom, and Henry Johns, on the complete opposite side of the Common Room.

But Prewett was not the one Lily should have been worried about bothering her that night. This night in particular was notably loud and chaotic for the Gryffindor Commons, because of the Quidditch match against Slytherinn looming the following morning. James Potter was strutting around the room with Sirius Black, who was the Gryffindor beater opposite Brianna, and the rest of the Gryffindor team, laughing and behaving in an incredibly raucous manner. Quidditch was the only time that the two "armies" put aside their differences, as they reasoned that, as Gryffindors, petty personal issues should be cast aside in favor of the greater good. At the moment, however, the Quidditch team was talking exceptionally loudly about how much of a sure win the match would be, right near the couch upon which Lily was revising. Lily rolled her eyes and called for them to, "Quiet down, if you don't mind, for there are some of us who have other things to worry about than a silly old sport"

A second later, when James spun around to shoot back a cutting remark that was sure to bring about another one of their rows; he stopped. He simply stopped. He stopped turning, he stopped talking, and he almost stopped breathing. What he had been about to say completely slipped his mind. Because all of his thoughts, all of his concentration, was all of a sudden taken up with one startling realization; Lily Evans was beautiful. That was the only thought he was capable of thinking for that one second in time. That Evans had the most gorgeous dark red hair, that tumbled down her thin frame, and that she had brightest green eyes he had ever seen. The fact that they were now flush full of anger and confusion at his gawking stare, didn't even detract from their beauty--if anything, her anger increased their beauty. And although she was about to murder him, and although he hated her through to his core; Evans was the most beautiful girl in the world to him for that one second.

But once that second was over, it was _over_. Now all he could see was Evans about to blow her top, her eyes mad with fury, and her face flushed and splotchy. _How could I have even thought for one second that _Evans_ was beautiful, I've surely dated much prettier. And I've surely dated girls with a better temper…_ He thought with wonder. He stood there, staring at Lily, trying to figure out why in Merlin's name he had thought that she was so beautiful, when Sirius elbowed him swiftly in the side.

"Wake up Romeo; you were just about to tell Evans off, and now your just staring at her like she is a bloody _History of Magics_ exam. What's gotten into you, mate?" Sirius said with a lopsided and mystified grin.

"Come off it Padfoot, I'm just trying to figure out something perfectly horrible to say to her. You know, she's kinda scary when she's all in a rage." James said, quickly covering himself--his voice trembling at the end with insecurity.

"If you say so…lover boy." Sirius said, loudly enough for the whole Common Room to hear, resulting in rousing titters from most Gryffindors, and a momentous scowl from Prewett.

--**A/N:** Okay, I told you I would be back soon! Thanks for the review thePinkfactory! Really made my day. So, keep reviewing people, and I'll have a chapter out everyday (at least until school starts…boo)

Much Love,

Summer


	3. Bloody Unsettling

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers. Thanks for reading...

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**Chapter 3: **Bloody Unsettling

James hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night before. He just couldn't get Evans out of his head. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful her hair was, and how brilliantly green her eyes were. It was almost unnerving, to be perfectly honest. He still hated her, more than anyone else in the world, but he couldn't help that when he had pulled his dead-tired body to breakfast that morning, his eyes immediately shot over to her. The only response to this was, of course, a rousing raspberry from Evans and her crew.

Sirius seemed to be the only one of his friends that really noticed that his eyes rested on her whenever he wasn't wholly concentrating on something else. He jeered, laughed, and aggravated him constantly, calling him a "Love-sick wanker," to be exact. But James didn't care, as long as no one else noticed, which was becoming increasingly unlikely, as Sirius was creating such a ruckus at their table in the Great Hall. But the thing that worried James the most, was the odd looks that Remus was giving him, as though he could read his mind, as though he knew everything going on inside him, and found what he saw to be quite disturbing...

--

"One is very crazy when in love."

--Sigmund Freud.

--

Lily was feeling no better than Potter was that morning. Ever since the night before when Potter had stared at her for such a long, long time, she had been feeling strange, and entirely on edge, and she couldn't explain why. It was, "Right unsettling, that's what!" as she accidentally screamed upon noticing his eyes drift over to her for what seemed to be the millionth time that morning. "Sorry about that," she apologized quietly, her face flaming the bright color of her hair. She got up to leave in embarrassment, unwilling to suffer through another moment of breakfast with James Potter in the room. As she ran away, with her friends calling after her in confusion; she didn't notice a tall figure following quickly behind her down the corridor.

All Lily could think about was getting away from her embarrassment, her friend's questions, and especially, James Potter. "He's the start of this whole mess anyway!" she exclaimed aloud, her face still flushed. "If it wasn't for Potter staring at me, I would be having a perfectly normal morning. What is wrong with him anyway?" She muttered under her breath.

"I'm not all bad you know." said a deep voice from behind her. Lily jumped out of her skin when she saw Potter looming over her smaller frame._ He really was tall_, Lily thought through her anger at him having followed her.

"What are you doing here Potter?" Lily spat, her annoyance dripping from each syllable.

"Looking for you," He replied noncommittally, shrugging his shoulders and leaning against the wall beside her. He continued to watch her as she began to speak in retaliation.

"Now why in Merlin's name would you do that? You very well know that you are exactly the reason I left the Great Hall in the first place! Now just let me alone, as I would very much like to return to my dormitory and attempt to get over the embarrassment already awarded to me this morning." She said, turning away from him to head down the stone covered hall.

"I'm afraid I just can't do that Evans. I need to ask you something before you run off and hide away." James said, whilst moving from his place against the wall into her path, thus blocking any chance she had of getting away.

"What do you want, Potter? Can't you tell that I'd rather not be speaking with you? Please just let me be." She said with mounting frustration, trying to push past his outstretched arms.

"Now, now, I just want to ask you the question that has been bothering me all day;_ Why do I find you beautiful, Evans?_" He finally said, stepping aside and fixing her with a vaguely confused stare, very akin to one he had first given her the night before.

"Excuse me?" Lily said in utter confusion. This was most certainly not what she had expected to fall from his mouth when he had stopped her flight only moments before. Any guess that she would have had surely would have included him either insulting her, or catching her off guard with a well-planned prank. This, on the other hand, was wholly unprecedented, and Lily was left rather speechless for the first time in his presence.

"Yes Evans, I don't understand it either. But ever since last night in the Commons, I can't help but find you amazingly beautiful. Of course, I still do hate you. Very much so in fact. But with Remus looking at me like I was some kind of odd...thing all morning, I needed to know why I could only think about your hair and your eyes last night." he said, quite matter-of-factly, although Lily could see through his calm and nonchalant facade. She even detected a shred of anxiety draped across his temple, and in the way he tapped his foot subconsciously against the ground in a quick, frenzied, rhythm.

But this knowledge, of course, did not make her dislike of him, and especially of this awkward situation, any less potent, and she made as quick of an escape as she could--rushing past his now lowered arms into the empty corridor beyond.

--

James stood there, entirely dumbfounded. He surely didn't fancy Evans in the slightest, but it was surprising for her not to take the compliment he had payed her with some type of grace or sense of pride, as many of the other witches in his year would. He always had had a very easy time with the girls he had come into contact with, and so this obvious rejection was, to say the least, surprising and a bit unsettling. He had always looked at Lily Evans as an out-of-the-ordinary girl in most ways, from the way she was never afraid of him, to the way her face would contort in the strangest fashion when she was in the middle of one of their famous shouting matches. So, he supposed, her uncommon dislike of him could explain her very unusual refusal of his attentions. _How could any one so stubborn and utterly annoying be so beautiful? What a waste_... He thought to himself with a frown.

"Oi, James, did you really just let on to Evans that you thought shes gorgeous?" Sirius said, as he walked up behind him, looking at him in an incredulous manner.

"Er...I suppose I must have, seeing as she stalked off like that." Replied

James, feeling quite lightheaded all of a sudden. Walking off together with Sirius and his other friends as they joined him, James began to wonder just how far this strange new feeling was going to take him. And for the first time in his life, James Potter was truly afraid of Lily Evans.

--**A/N:** As promised, here is the updated list of my fabulous reviewers!

blackshadowz

beyonce-85

3musketteers

Hazelocean

alix33

MtOTHepowERoF2

Trainer Krystal

_And my honorary 1st reviewer: the Pinkfactory!_

Much Love,

Summer


	4. Angles

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers. Thanks for reading...

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**Chapter 4: **Angles

Back up in her dormitory, Lily could barely breath. She had run the whole way up there, and had only been stopped once. That was when Professor Flitwick had yelled at her for running in the hallways. She couldn't believe that Potter had said that, and in the middle of the corridor too! She would surely be the laughing stock of her year, not to mention, her dormitory full of gossipy Sixth Year girls.

And "beautiful"--that was certainly not something she heard directed at her everyday. It could've been a nice thing to say, if James Potter had not said it as though it was entirely unbelievable. This intonation turned the compliment distinctly sour.

Lily did not see herself as necessarily beautiful either way. She saw that being the "beauty" was Raina's job--definitely not hers. Small stature, troublesome, way-to-red hair, and freckles. And her eyes.They were enormous and surely too green. Yet another outstanding feature that set her so far apart from her family, further alienating her older sister, Petunia. _Beautiful? I wonder what that Potter is angling at... _She thought with suspicion, flouncing onto her favourite couch by the fire and opening a large puce tome.

--

Reasons Why I (Might) Find Lily Evans Beautiful

By James Earl Potter

--Long, wavy, red, fiery hair _(Merlin, did I seriously just write that?)_

--Small frame _(She looks as if she could just fit right against me)_

--Freckles dotting her arms, legs, and face. For some inexplicable reason, they are just one more thing I find attractive about her. _(When did I turn into such a buggery sap?)_

--Eyes. Green, emerald, olive, grass? (_How do you describe those eyes?)_

--

"I really have to stop this list now. Why can't she just make it easy on me, and explain to me, why I think she's beautiful? Then I could get over it, and move on to hating her like nothing ever happened." James screamed, exasperated. It was the next day, and James had been up all night celebrating Gryffindor's fully expected victory. But instead of sleeping the party off in usual Marauder fashion, he had been sitting at that table in the Great Library for an just over hour pondering this list. He had even enlisted his fellow Marauders to help him. Madam Pince, the stern Hogwarts librarian, was of course glaring daggers at them from across the room.

Sirius noticed this, and called "Sorry 'bout that Pincey, darling!" from his lethargic position on the floor next to James' desk.

"Okay James. Now I'm going to spell it out for you. Yes, I am going to tell you exactly why you think Lily is drop dead gorgeous, okay?" stated Remus, staring at James with his trademark "You-couldn't-live-without-me-breathing-for-you" look, truly exasperated with his foolishness that, in his opinion, had been going on far too long.

"Okay, yes, er...That's exactly what I've been waiting for! Come on, tell me, don't hold it back now..." whined James in a very six-year-old esq. voice and demeanor.

"She. Is." Remus said with a small smile, flicking James scribbled scratch pad closed, and sitting back in his seat in satisfaction with the incredulous face James now had about his face.

"What? Are you kidding me? You think she's pretty too? You've got to be joking." James said, pushing his head into his hands in confusion.

"Why Jamsie, are you jealous? You think dear Remus is going to steal your fiery witch away from you, now?" taunted Sirius, pushing James in the side, nearly to the point of falling onto the floor as well.

"No. Yes. NO. She's not my anything. And she's not "fiery" either. Wait, don't tell me. I don't think I could take it if you thought that Lily Evans is beautiful too Padfoot. This is just too much. Five years of hating her and teasing her and pulling pranks on her, and now you tell me that she's Merlin's gift to Gryffindor?" James said, turning his bereaved face towards his laughing friend.

"Yes Prongs, you bugger. She's bloody gorgeous! Do you truly think that you're the only one who has noticed that in the last couple years? The only reason I haven't snogged her senseless for the past five years, is because I knew you you would call me a traitor. But now..." Sirius said with a suggestive smirk. "We may be due for a trip to Honeyduke's store room sometime soon." he said with his eyebrows waggling, causing Peter to chuckle from his place across the table.

"Don't. You. DARE." James roared, whilst standing up and jabbing his finger in Sirius' joyful face.

"See, I knew you fancied her. I also knew that you've always been insanely jealous of my devilishly handsome looks." teased Sirius, striking a pose, as they were shooed out of the library by a livid Madam Pince.

"Sorry Pincey! I'll have to send you a big box o' chocolate frogs to make it up to you, now won't I? " Sirius said to her retreating back, his face aglow with his trademark grin.

--

Days later, Remus and Sirius were still trying to make James understand that Lily was, in fact, beautiful. This had resulted in intense interrogations of every Sixth Year Gryffindor male, many of whom had agreed with the two Marauders. This may have been because of one of two reasons: that they truly agreed that Lily was attractive; or that they were simply too scared of Remus and Sirius' wrath. Although the two had had there ups and downs the last year over an incident they referred to as the Snape Death Debacle; Remus had basically forgiven Sirius, especially when he sided with him about something like this. James could not really make as much of a threat as the both of them put together, because of Remus' mind, and Sirius' temper. So it was common knowledge that it was always better to have one Marauder (James), mad at you, than having two (Remus and Sirius)

Nevertheless, James was still stubborn. He surely wasn't afraid of his friends.

_No sir, they can't bully me into anything I don't want to believe! No sir...No sir... _James mumbled incoherently under his breath at breakfast that Saturday. Today was the second Hogsmeade trip of the year, and he couldn't even enjoy it because he was so bleedin' caught up in this Evans nonsense. He simply could not except the fact that Evans hadn't just dropped some potent love potion into afternoon tea, or something of the like. But was it possible, even for a brilliant witch like Evans, to drug the entire school's tea? Not only had James noticed that Evans had many of the Gryffindor boys entranced, but it seemed that she had also attracted Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. But the craziest thing about it all, was that he had even seen some Slytherinns, especially one Severus Snape, look her way during double Potions a couple times.

In the last week, James had become nearly obsessed. He noticed everything, from Evan's preference in fruits (cherries and raspberries mostly), to her dislike of Herbology and yogurt. It wasn't as if he was stalking her, he was merely paying close attention is all. And this attention had led to multiple slaps to his face from Evans and her posse. Thinking of this, James rubbed his still-pink cheek absently.

Adding to his list of Reasons Why I (Might) Find Lily Evans Beautiful list, he also composed another list, of his observations. It was titled, Evans' Strange-Yet-Endearing Quirks; and covered all manner of things, from her hatred of asparagus, to her habit of biting her nails. And apparently she was quite partial to tomato juice and drank it excessively. She also was very close to Hagrid the Groundskeeper (as was James--he noted this with a feeling of pride). This list went on for nearly ten sheets of parchment. And it was still growing.

His friends could do nothing to help him. They just looked on in pity and thought collectively "He's so far gone, and he doesn't even know it".

--

Lily, for her part, was taking the fact that Potter was stalking her, quite well. Besides the fact that her friends had taken to calling her Mrs. Potter; and mocked her endlessly; and that her boyfriend had become quite protective of her in the past week, she was not very affected by the whole affair. She was quite calm in actuality, except for a few slaps that she had been forced to give Potter to keep up appearances. At the moment, Lily was happy that instead of pranking her, he had been staring at her--although it was creepy, it wasn't nearly as irritating.

--

Lily was drinking a large cup of tomato juice, yes, tomato juice, and trying to find something to wear for her date to Hogsmeade with Gideon Prewett. Now, Lily was not a superficial person, nor a vain one. But something about Gideon made her want to be perfect. It was odd, but she really didn't mind because she really fancied him. She _wanted_ to be better for him.

In light of this, Lily's dormitory now looked as if her wardrobe had exploded. Her three friends, were now huddled on top of Raina's bed, dodging and ducking as socks and tank tops were tossed their way. "Bombs away! Batten down the hatches mi' mutinous crew!" screamed Tessa jokingly, only to be glared at by Lily. "Sorry Lils, but this is getting ridiculous!"

And it was. School robes, dress robes, jeans, khakis, jumpers, and dresses were strewn about the room. One sequined top had actually gotten stuck to the ceiling, although no one could attest to how this happened. It already looked like a war zone, and Lily had only been at it for half an hour.

"So where is old Prewett taking you anyway?" Brianna asked in a guarded way. She tried to hide the grimace on her face after saying Gideon's name, but her efforts were mostly to no avail. Anyone who looked could plainly see her obvious dislike of the boy.

"Well, first we are going to take a walk around the town, and then head over to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer. And of course I'll have to pick up some sort of gift for his birthday next week. Yes, his birthday is December 8th, so I only have until Wednesday to find the perfect thing." Lily said as she struggled into a long burgundy skirt that complimented her hair. With this, she put on a v-neck brown jumper, and her brown suede boots. After all; it was supposed to be a cold day, what with it being December and all, she reasoned.

Lily seemed to be satisfied with her outfit, and then set out upon digging up accessories from the mess, and doing her hair and makeup. "I think I might love Gideon, some day anyway. I mean, we have only been going out for about a month, but he's been so sweet. And he makes me so happy--he really is the perfect boyfriend." She mused aloud. While saying this, she had tamed her red ringlets, tied her long bangs up with a brown clip, and applied mascara and lipgloss. She doubted that she would need any blush, seeing as she always burst into a deep flush whenever around Gideon. He complimented her so often, that her blush-prone face was perpetually pink.

"Oh yeah, he's so perfect," Brianna said dryly, her voice dripping with sarcasm. For some untold reason, Brianna had refused to like Gideon Prewett. No one knew why, but the black-haired girl would not even give him a chance. "He's stuck-up." was the only response given when she was repeatedly asked for a reason. And so, Lily was used to the resentment, and chose to ignore it the best she could. As she pinned on her usual peal earrings as finishing touch, she turned around to face her friends with a goofy "Tada!"

"You look great Lily. I always say that you look great in that chocolate color. But borrow my brown beret and gloves, it should be pretty cold out there, and we don't want you in the Hospital Wing for the sake of a silly date," Raina said with her deep voice, as she fetched the hat and gloves. "There you go honey. Have loads of fun, and don't come back 'till dark," She said with a warm smile, hurrying a thankful Lily towards the door.

"Have a great time Lils!" Tessa offered to her retreating back.

"Ugh" Brianna mumbled from her state of denial under her bed. None of the others had dates, except of course for Raina. Raina always had a date. Or two. She was the "beauty" of the group, but needed only five minutes or less to get ready; and wouldn't start coming down to the carriages for another fifteen minutes. And so, with hugs and kisses from all of her friends, yes, even Brianna ventured out from her hovel to say goodbye, the tiny redhead ran out of her dormitory, and into the Common Room. But as she ran into the Room, she ran into _someone_ as well. As Lily looked up from her odd position on the floor, where she had be pushed in the fall, she saw on top of her, of course, James Potter.

--**A/N: **Okay, I hope from this chapter you learned a little more about james and his obsessions...let it be said now that i love james. i love him bunches! but one thing i hate, and will be skipping over is the whole sirius sets remus on snape thing. in case you didn't' notice, it was noted as the "snape death debacle" in this chapter. okay thats about it. thanx for the reviews, continue please! oh yes, and there is a plot here. i will be making the chapters longer so don't worry bout that!

Love,

Summer


	5. Ouroborous

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers. Thanks for reading...

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**Chapter 5: **Ouroboros

"Potter get off of me!" Lily bellowed, once the original shock had worn off. At this point, she had been pushed to the ground, and James was balanced on her torso. An unfortunately for Lily, James was no where near as light as she was.

"Potter, get off!" Lily said again, now more agitated. James, with his current predicament finally sinking into his bewildered mind, moved off of her as quickly as his awkward body could handle.

"Sorry 'bout that Lily! I really didn't mean to run into you. You just sort of came out of nowhere..." James mumbled sheepishly, with his eyes cast toward the ground, avoiding her still-angry gaze.

"What's that Potter? No rude innuendo, or snide comments on how I should watch where I am going? Who slipped a potion in your tea?" Lily said, not without a hint of sarcasm. But only a hint. The kind spirit inside Lily could not bring herself to be truly cruel to Potter as long as he wasn't acting the fool as usual. "Well, Potter, I really must be running off now. I have a date with Gideon, and I have to catch the carriage..." Lily tumbled out, blushing profusely at the mention of her date.

James turned bright red at her words as well, if only for the fact that Lily herself was blushing. "Oh but of course, don't let a git like me get in your way or anything. I'm just like a troll; I don't have any feelings!" James said, back to his old, joking, prat self, pantomiming the stupidity and brutish walk of a mountain troll. And although Lily wasn't happy to see him switch back to "prat-mode"; at least she knew how to respond to it. And with a quick, "Shove off, Potter," she ran from the Common Room.

As she ran away to meet her date, James couldn't help but feel a strange ache of disappointment. And as he headed over to a couch by the fire, he tried desperately to ignore the fact that this might be because Lily wasn't running off to meet him...

--

As Lily ran down the sleek stone steps of Hogwarts castle, she couldn't help thinking about how Potter had acted only minutes before. Now that I think about it; its a little bit odd how Potter has been acting lately. What with suddenly being civil and nearly serious just now in the Commons, and staring at me for the past week; I wonder if he's changed... More likely he's just planning a massive prank on me, and trying to catch me off guard, Lily mused absently as she ran. But although she tried to convince herself that it was merely a rouse, Potter's blushing face was the only thing that kept popping into her mind. She had never seen him blush before--

"Lily! I was wondering how much longer it would take you to get here!" Gideon called from his place near an empty carriage.

Lily shook herself from her daydreams, and realized that she had already made it to the front of the building, and that Gideon was waiting for here, and looking slightly impatient.

"Hello Gideon! Sorry I took so long. There was a minor mishap in the Commons..." Lily got out, whilst bringing Gideon into an embrace, which was surprisingly subdued on his part. And though nothing had happened, Lily did not feel that she should mention the fact that Potter had fallen on top of her to Gideon. No matter how accidental and innocent it had been.

--

"The flesh endures the storms of the present alone, the mind those of the past and future as well as the present"

-- Epicurus

--

"Oh, Gideon, it's snowing!" Lily exclaimed gaily as she twirled about on the Main Street of Hogsmeade. "I adore snow--and isn't there just something magical about the first snow of the year?" Lily whispered in his ear as she stared about her with childlike wonderment.

"Er...yes...I suppose it is quite, magical?" Gideon said, not without hesitation. Lily turned her eyes toward him for a moment, wondering what the matter was. Gideon was usually so romantic, and normally humored her exploits. But today, he had been extremely subdued. Just like their greeting embrace; there was something missing from their banter today.

"What's wrong Gideon? You've really been acting a strange today. Actually, now that I think about it, you've been acting a little off for about a week now. Is something the matter?" Lily asked timidly, angling her face towards his stony one. And her timidity was surely not without reason. She regretted saying anything at all immediately. Gideon's eyes flashed angrily, and he looked nearly ready to explode.

"Well do you know what _else_ has been happening for about a week now, _darling_?" he spat. "I think you would know, because _I_ know that it has something to do with you and that Potter."

"What are you talking about Gideon? Nothing is going on between Potter and I. You know as well as I do that I can't stand the boy. I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lily cried; the snow not entrancing her as it had been. Now, it only felt cold, exceedingly cold.

"Oh, now, don't you? You think I don't know about you and Potter? I've seen him eyeing you, Lily. And I know for a fact that you have been cheating on me with that cocky git. And do you know what else?" he paused, seething. "I nearly trusted you." Gideon finished up, coldly, glaring at her with his pale brown eyes.

_Almost as cold as the snow_, Lily thought, on the verge of tears. "I never would cheat on you Gideon! You mean too much to me. And especially not with Potter, I really can't _stand_ Potter; why don't you believe me?" Lily pleaded, her eyes watering pathetically. Gideon saw this, and his gaze only hardened further.

"Get away from me." he spat, and turned his back to her, moving quicky down the icy lane.

All throughout this emotional display, Lily had had only one thought. _Cold as ice, cold as snow... _And as she ran away, she wondered if she could ever love the snow again.

--

"And as she runs away, she fears she won't be followed. What could be worse than leaving something behind? And as the depths of oceans slowly become shallow, Its loneliness she finds..."

--Rinse, Vanessa Carlton

--

Lily ran. She ran past Gideon, past snow covered light posts, past the area where the carriages would be meeting them in two hours time. She ran through the ever-intensifying snow, as she was now unappreciative of its splendor. She ran all the way back on the poorly lit road, and up to Hogwart's front doors. She then pushed the heavy oak doors open, and ran again, all through Hogwarts, up to Gryffindor Tower. And through all this running: she ignored the icy cold; the pain in her calves; and the tears streaming down her flushed and frozen face. All she knew, the only thought running through her frazzled mind, was to _Get up the Gryffindor Commons, escape Prewett... Climb into favorite couch by the fire, escape Prewett..._ That was the one recurring and chaotic thought running through tiny girl's mind as she finally reached the Tower, muttered the password "Sticky Wicket" to the Fat Lady, ran into the Commons, and threw herself onto "her" couch. But as her head was finally put at rest, as she had done what her frozen mind had set out to do, she heard a muffled "Oof" from somewhere underneath her. She looked down, and was not at all surprised to find James Potter squashed underneath her.

"Well I suppose its only fair that you came out on top this time Evans." Potter joked, through his harbored breathing. After all; his respiratory system was been lain upon by Lily. "Now, I know you are nowhere near heavy mi' dear, but would you be so obliged as to... GEROFF ME?" he said, with an exclamation at the end breaking his calm facade. After all, this was the second time that this situation had occurred today, and it was becoming slightly ridiculous. After all, how could he avoid the girl if she continually ended up on top or underneath him throughout the day?

"Oh Potter, I just can't deal with you right now! You have already ruined my day enough with your incessant staring, now could you please just--leave me alone?" Lily spat, but without her usual vigor. This may have been because of the uncontrollable sob that had burst out between "please" and "leave", as she buried her face in a couch cushion.

When James saw this, his defensive gaze immediately softened, as he realized that something horribly wrong must have happened for Lily to show any level of weakness around him. It just simply wasn't done. And the fact that she said he had ruined her day, didn't help much either. So now, James wriggled a bit, so that he was only partially underneath this hysterical, disheveled, flushed and frozen Prefect; with no idea what to do, besides pat her back awkwardly and speak in hushed tones.

"I'm real sorry Lily, I didn't mean to upset you, no matter how surprising that may seem. Now, what's all this about me ruining your life? And by the way, Ihavenotbeenstaringatyou!" he mumbled shamefacedly, whilst still patting her back for "support".

"Why would you care, Potter? You have never cared about my feelings before, except to blatantly hurt them repeatedly with your heartless pranks. And, yes, you have been staring at me--thats what's gotten me into this mess in the first place!" she said quietly, still without her usual spirit. But although she tried to act as though she was still angry with James, she couldn't help thinking the same things as she had earlier. _Maybe Potter is starting to change for the better? He never cared about my feelings before today_, She thought absently.

"Lily...What's happened to you? You look real upset, and although I don't mean to pry; for some inexplicable reason, I am worried about you. You have never acted like this before--Lily? Did someone hurt you?" James asked, looking sincere, and truly worried about her well-being, his eyes filling with concern.

"Well...not in any physical way, James. But I must say that my pride has been duly shot at today. Gideon broke up with me." Lily said, her face flaming pink at this admittance to James.

"Oh, is that all? Err...I'm sorry Lily, but that prat didn't half deserve you, Lily. Anyone who would break up with you is raving mad." James said, his usual joking and arrogant manner coming back slowly.

"And may I just say, that you look even more unexplainably gorgeous when you have been crying for a bit." James said, smiling his wide and infectious grin. It was the smile he used to weasel out of trouble, make classmates swoon, and... at times, to make crying girls feel better. And for some reason, Lily did not feel compelled to slap him for the comment. She actually took it as it was intended; as a compliment.

"James, thank you for making me snap out of my self-pitying moment just now. Today, your arrogance is actually greatly appreciated." Lily admitted, now pulling out her smile and showing her true appreciation. And when James saw it, it was all he could do to not to lean down and kiss her right then and there, because he realized that Lily was now smiling at _him_.

Any time he had seen her smile his way, it was always in malice or a sneer. But now, the smile that she used to use for Gideon, the smile that she used for her friends, the smile that was real and true and beautiful--that smile was now directed at him. And for the first time that day, James was truly happy. Yes, happy. And the pressing question of how he came into play in her misfortunes, floated out of his mind.

So, for the second time that week, he only had one thought on his mind while looking at Lily. But this time, it was happiness rather than utter confusion. It flowed through his head like a spell, and took over.

Well...except for one, small, niggling, other thought; the fact that he was going to hex Gideon Prewett until he was an inch from death for what he had done to Lily Evans.

--

This is a beginning.

"Oh, this is the start of something good...don't you agree?"

--Follow Through, Gavin DeGraw

--**A/N:** Well this is my longest chapter yet. And the shortest wait...I think. Well I hope you all enjoy it! Pleasepleaseplease! review! Yes, I do not mind begging...if it works! lol. By the way; This chapter is over 2,000 words long!

Much Love;

Missing Summer


	6. Till the Bitter End

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (I wasted it all going to Chicago for a party for the book release!) so don't bother suing me! ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 6: **Til' the Bitter End

James, was ecstatic. Lily wasn't crying anymore, and she was smiling at him. But one thing that he realized just then; was that she was still sitting on him. Unfortunately, she realized this too, thus moving off of him, and breaking their little happy moment. She blushed, and so James blushed as well. _Bugger, I do seem to be blushing quite a lot around this girl these days..._ he thought. Surprisingly, Lily seemed to agree with him.

"James, there is something different about you today. I don't believe I've ever seen the James Potter blush." she teased, poking his torso jokingly. James blushed again. _Bugger, I just can't stop now can I?_ Lily laughed at his perplexed face, and stood.

"Well...er...James, thanks for everything you did today. You really helped me get through this." she said smilingly, turning to climb the stairs to her dormitory. But before she could reach the third step, she stopped at the faint calling of her name.

James' voice was a little husky--that was the only way to describe it really. She could only imagine it was because he hadn't spoken for such a long time. "Lily...What did I have to do with it?"

"Hmm" she mumbled absently, still trying to figure out why his voice sounded so odd.

"You said before, that if it hadn't been for me staring at you, none of this mess would've happened..." he said softly, his eyes trained on the ground, away from her large green ones.

"Oh...er...Well, it really wasn't your fault. Gideon thought I was cheating on him with you, because he thought he saw you eyeing me. It really wasn't your fault..."she said, reassuringly. For some reason, the thought that he had ruined something for her, seemed to truly trouble James, and after all he had done for her that day, being so nice and all, she at least owed him a guilt-free conscience. "Not at all your fault, okay?"

James looked up at her, now barely looking her in the eye. He nodded, and Lily turned to go up the stairs once again. And as she turned into her dormitory, and was about to close to oak door, she heard his voice again, very quiet and soft. "She called me...James." he whispered, his voice so full of awe, that Lily smiled again before shutting her door once and for all.

----

It was late now. Quite late actually; past midnight. Despite this, Lily Evans could be found wandering the halls, about to leave the school heading for the Owlery tower. _I know I shouldn't be out of bed, I should be sleeping for Merlin's sake! But I must send off this letter..._ Lily thought tiredly, whilst outwardly sighing. Lily looked down at the slightly crumpled piece of parchment clutched in her small fist. Sighing, once again, she slowly unfolded the parchment, so as to read the black-inked letter over once more. It read;

_Dear Cupidon,_

_I have been missing you so much in these last few months. I am surprised that you haven't owled me since September. I am most certainly pouting as I write this! Just kidding, dear._

_Well, I'm single once again. Yes, Gideon--the prat--broke it off with me this morning. And for the silliest reason yet! He believed that I was cheating on him with Potter. Yes, yes, that messy-haired git who pranked you so fiercely during your stay. That was a good year, now wasn't it. Hogwarts will always be the best school! _

_Well, onto more important matters than school rivalries...Would you be my date to the Yuletide Ball? Just as friends I assure you. You are my only guy friend, and my best mate at that. I know that Hogwarts is quite far away from Beaxbatons, but I need you. Do try, won't you?_

_Much love;_

_Lily Evans_

Cupidon De'Lacure, was--as she had penned--her best mate. He was also her first boyfriend. He had traveled to Hogwarts with his school, Beaxbatons, during their fourth year for the last Triwizard Tournament for many years to come. But we'll get into that later on...

They had broken it off before they began their fifth year, but they had stayed the best of friends ever since. She had even spent her past summer holiday at his home in France. It had been one of the best holidays that she had ever had...Lily pulled her crimson cloak closer across her thin shoulders, and blew her red curls out of her face. It was cold out on this bright night. The stars shown brightly as she mounted the stairs up to the Owlery.

As she stepped into the threshold, she almost screamed in shock. There she was, expecting to be alone; but there he was, facing the window, staring out into the night sky. His raven hair, blowing in the breeze coming in through the large stone windows. Looking so serious, more serious and thoughtful than Lily had ever seen him. Not scheming, not being arrogant, not laughing at the expense of another. Just being himself, and half-smiling at his thoughts.

When you are alone, when you think no one is watching; you are who you are. No facade, no acting, no mannerisms or airs put on. Just who you are. That night, Lily saw something in James Potter that she never thought she would. She didn't see an arrogant, "bullying toerag" she had always know and loathed. She saw a person. A person with feelings, passion, depth, and emotions. His hazel eyes no longer held who she knew to be James Potter. They stared, penetratingly into space. Seemingly getting lost in the cosmos. As if, he had never seen something so magical in all his years at Hogwarts. _This_ was the person Lily wanted to know. _This_ was the person, although she did not know it yet, that she could love, for the rest of her life. Someone she could spend the rest of her life with.

She smiled, wholeheartedly, and spoke. "James..." she whispered. At this, he spun around, slowly, and locked eyes with her. Hazel with green. And the attention, the penetrating gaze he had set upon the cosmos, was now upon her. And she suddenly found herself crossing the room, in long, quick strides. When she finally reached him, she pulled him into a gentle hug.

James couldn't help but show his shock at what she had done. Only days ago, Lily hadn't even wanted to speak to him, much less hug him. Lily looked just as surprised to be in his arms, as he was for her to be in _his_ arms. But he couldn't help but notice how right she felt against him; he knew his crazed list from a week ago, had been right. And in that one moment, he knew that this was how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. That she, Lily Evans, was the one person he could love for the rest of his life.

Interrupting his thoughts, Lily looked up to him slowly, and began to whisper. "James...James, do you think...do you think we could be friends?" Lily knew that this was the right thing. After seeing who he truly was underneath it all--all of the mannerisms and facades, she had realized that she couldn't forgive herself for hating him for five years of her life. She realized that she had wasted five years of her life, not knowing who this great boy was. And now, she only knew one thing for sure, and that was that she didn't want to waste any more days of her life--much less years, not knowing him.

And although she knew it was right, and that what she said, was the thing to do, she was still worried slightly that he wouldn't forgive her. For all of the hateful things she had said to him, all of the slaps she had given him. But her worries were hushed as she heard him whisper, through his hellion grin, a shy "Yes, Lily, I'd love to be friends..."

And so, they stood there, just warming each other in the cool night air, enjoying each others company. Both beginning to understand that they fit perfectly into each others frames. And wondering when in their lives they had ever felt so right, so complete.

This was the way they could stay for the rest of their lives. Til' the bitter end.


	7. Bleary Moments in the Commons

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (I wasted it trying to buy a North Face jacket because my parents are cheap!) so don't bother suing me! ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 7: **Bleary Moments in the Commons

Remus Lupin awoke early the next morning, and stretched widely. The full moon was still two weeks away, and yet, he still had the heightened senses that his lycanthropy granted him. One of the only advantages to being a werewolf. _Though nothing could ever be worth it..._He sighed, and stepped out of his four-poster bed.

He moved quickly and quietly into the room, and pulled a maroon sweater over his thin frame, and dark jeans over his scarred legs. Shoving his beat-up trainers onto his feet, he started out of the dorm, away from his sleeping roommates, and down the stairs into the Common Room. But the sight that greeted him as he stepped into the room, almost induced a scream from his insomniac self.

For infront of him, on one of the squashy couches in the Common Room, sat James--James Potter--with Lily Evans. Yes, Lily Evans. The self-proclaimed life-long enemy of aforementioned James Potter. All they were doing was sitting, and sleeping; but this unto itself was a phenomenon of epic proportions. And, yes, Remus was aware that even his thoughts sounded intelligent.

But the most amazing thing of all, was the fact that Lily's head was placed upon James' shoulder, and in her dreams, she was smiling. Remus had never seen Lily smile in James' presence, unless it was a mocking, or sarcastic smile. And so, Remus Lupin could only wonder, filled with awe; what in the world had happened the night before?

----

James blearily opened his eyes, slowly, and blinked in the light. In those first few seconds of consiousness, he was entirely confounded as to why it was so bright in his dorm. Maybe, he had forgotten to close the curtains around his four-poster. And then...he actually looked around him. More to the point; he looked down. And like Remus before him; James almost screamed.

For what he saw between his lanky arms, was a mass of red curls. And the girl underneath them, of course. And this was why he had to supress a scream. For, only days before, this red-headed girl had hated him with a passion, and now, he had awaken to her sleeping in his arms. His sixteen year old male mind duly noted the fact that she was entirely clothed, and that they were merely sitting on a Common Room couch.

Slightly disheartened by this revelation, James began to wonder whether he should wake her or not. Surely, she would not be pleased with fact that she had fallen asleep in his arms, much less with her head upon his shoulder. He did not wish to wake her, seeing as she was even more beautiful in the innocence of sleep; but he did not believe that she would appreciate if he allowed them to be discovered by the gossiping students of Hogwarts. If something happened in a boarding school such as Hogwarts; if someone knew about it, everyone knew about it. And he knew, that although he wouldn't mind having people believe that something horribly wicked had transpired between them in the Common Room (which was without a doubt the story that would reach the masses), Lily would be entirely maddened. And with their new friendship, being at its most vulnerable stage, he couldn't risk doing something that would make her loathe him again.

And so, grudgingly, James shook Lily awake, and helped her to her dormitory stairs. She smiled a sleepy smile at him as she moved up the steps, and dissapeared into her dorm.

Remus grinned from his hiding place in the Common Room at James' ecstatic state, as he was watching Lily's retreat. And, although he hated to agree with anything Sirius had ever voiced, he had to agree that James had fallen for this girl; hard and fast.


	8. Sunday Mornings

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (I wasted my last two cents paying off my brother!) so don't bother suing me!

**A/N: ** Part of the conversation that Raina and Sirius have in the beginning, is adapted from a Turner Classic Movie...yes I know I am weird...ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 8:** Sunday Morning

Later on, at a more reasonable hour, the "two armies of Hogwarts" (although they didn't really fight as much as usual these days) headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. As they sat down at the long Gryffindor table, the majority of the two groups were shocked to find Lily and James sitting next to each other. Of course, this excluded Remus, James, and Lily. Despite, or maybe because of, this strange "phenomenon" (as Remus would say), the two groups split into multiple conversations that breached their usual rivalries.

On the outskirts of the combined groups, sat Tessa and Raina. They were soon joined by Sirius, who announced his arrival into their conversation by eyeing up the both of them. Tessa merely rolled her eyes, but Raina decided that this was her cue to speak. "What's wrong with you?" she questioned, dripping with annoyance and sarcasm. Unfortunately, Sirius took this as an act of flirting, so he replied accordingly.

"Nothing you can't fix, lov" he said suggestively with a wink. Raina fumed, and turned to face away from him, decidedly ignoring him along with her blond companion.

Closer to the center of the large group, were Brianna and Remus. She was glaring at him, if only for her suspicions. She didn't trust him, and suspected that he knew something more about the change in Lily and James' "relationship"--if you could call it that--than he was sharing. Remus was doing nothing to discourage her suspicions, as he was continually casting furtive glances at the pair with an odd look on his face. To put it bluntly, he looked suspicious. "Humphff" Brianna sighed, blowing her raven fringe out of her eyes. "Well if everyone's going to be all queer this morning, I think I'm going to go practice some Quidditch." she said, standing from her seat. She sent silent glares toward James, before making a hurried exit out the Great Hall doors.

"What's with her?" Lily said, with a hint of annoyance. _Why in the world would she want to practice Quidditch, now? _Lily rose from the table to follow her, only to be pulled back by Remus. She shot him a questioning look. They were by no means enemies, because of their combined Prefect duties, but they were by no means friends. Therefore, he should definitely not be pulling her back from something she wanted to do.

"Now Lily, I think it would be wise to let her alone. You and I have both witnessed the effects of Brianna's rage, and I do not think it is a good idea to disturb her during one of these aforementioned rages." he said, smiling knowingly. Although Lily could not be sure what exactly it was that he knew--what he had seen--she could make a guess. And if her hunch was correct, Remus now had a lot of blackmail material against her.

"I make it a point to have blackmail material on any--and every--one that I may come into contact with on a regular basis...For example, Sirius occasionally sleeps with a teddy bear named Philip." he said, smiling, basically reading her mind. _How in Merlin's name does he do that? _She looked to James, who was stuffing his face with a mountain of toast. _How in Merlin's name am I friends with this twat? _she thought, smiling again.

And so, the next couple of weeks flew by in whirl of more snow; glares from Brianna--_and_ other girls of all ages and Houses, as a matter of fact; the sending of Lily's letter to Cupidon; and frenzied planning of the upcoming Yuletide Ball. Through this all, James and Lily got to know each other much better, and Lily even started to not regret becoming his friend. Except of course, at breakfast time.

"_Sunday morning, rain is falling."_

-Maroon 5, Songs About Jane.

A week before the Ball, Lily awoke at an abnormally early time on a Sunday morning. But as she realized that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again, with all of the bright light drifting in from her open curtains, Lily tiptoed into the shower quietly--so as to not wake her sleeping dorm mates. With a well-cast silencing charm, Lily emerged from the showers minutes later, with her dorm mates still sleeping soundly. She then pulled a black turtleneck jumper over her head, and dark jeans on, along with her silver trainers. Throwing her wet ringlets into a messy chignon, Lily started down the dormitory stairs with _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ in hand. Being the studious girl she was, Lily hated idleness, and so when she was unable to sleep, she always took the time to catch up on her reading.

Unfortunately for Lily, who was looking forward to a couple of hours of uninterrupted reading before everyone else awoke; the Commons were not as empty as she had hoped they would be. There was one other occupant. Sirius Black.

Lily almost groaned out loud when she realized this. Sirius Black was the one person who could get her blood boiling...and her heart racing. He was a bloody prat, but he _was _an absolutely gorgeous prat as well. Whenever in his presence, Lily always fell into a state of utter confusion. The teetering balance between lust and dislike completely disable much of her large brain capacity. It was as though, the brilliant Prefect that was Lily Evans; was reduced to a babbling schoolgirl. This was a side of herself that she tried everyday to hide from everyone else, and she resented that Sirius Black was one of the few people who could bring it out of her.

"Hullo Black. G'morning." Lily said slowly, carefully, so that she didn't fumble her words.

"Lily Flower! Why, may I ask, are you up at such an ungodly hour--though I certainly do not mind the company of a beautiful woman..."he smiled, waggling his eyebrows. Lily sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"If you must know; I couldn't sleep well at all. And...I _was_ up pretty late as well...now that I think about it." Lily almost slapped herself at the confession. Surely, Sirius would make some innuendo about the nature of her lack of sleep. Ready, on guard to snap back an insult at his beautiful face; she was shocked at what he said next. It was so uncharacteristically...tactful.

"Thats too bad Lily darling. I couldn't sleep well either, so I just came down here to read." he smiled his enormous grin--which was quite similar to that of James. _Its now wonder they are so close...Lily_ reached over to look at the cover of the green text lying in his lap. _Quidditch Through the Ages_. Lily smiled, wondering why she had thought it would be anything other than that. _Come on, he's a Marauder!_

She sat down next to him, to his surprise, and folded one leg underneath her, with the other draped over her knee. As she opened her book to finally begin reading, she glanced toward Sirius, who was staring at her legs, as if he couldn't understand how she had bent them that way. Lily smiled, and merely said "I'm quite flexible."

"I'm sure." Sirius said suggestively, with a wink.

"Shut up Black."

----

Two hours later, at about seven thirty, Lily put down her book. In the past two hours, she had just sat there next to Sirius, reading her book. Without the usual disruptions from the surprisingly subdued Sirius, Lily had already reached the fifth Act--her favourite part, resulting in her continuous laughter. Sirius was constantly looking up from his text to look at her oddly when she did this. Lily giggled again. Sirius kept on peering over her shoulder from his place beside her on the couch, trying to understand why she was laughing so hard.

"Me thinks someone's put a Cheering charm on Miss Lily!" he cried out jokingly. He fumbled for his wand, and was about to perform the counter-curse as Lily motioned for him to stop; when he sprang up and began tickling Lily

This was not exactly what Lily had been expecting, and so she found herself laughing even harder than before. As she cried for a reprieve, Sirius only grinned maniacally. "See, now you have a _reason_ to be laughing!" he said loudly.

And he only stopped tickling her, when he saw James step out of his dormitory, minutes later; rubbing his bleary eyes and stretching. "Oi! What's all the noise Padfoot, its bloody early!" he cried sleepily.

"Well, my dar Missur Prongs, you see...I was just entertaining my insomniac lov' her; Lily Evans but of course!" Sirius said, smiling widely. And Lily, flushed and gay from all of the tickling, turned an even bright shade of pink at being caught. She knew nothing had happened, but James didn't know that. _Wait! Why the hell am I worried about what James thinks? After all, we're only friends, and James should be glad that I'm getting along with Sirius and his other friends..._Then her frenzied thoughts were hushed by James, as he spoke.

"You couldn't sleep well Lily?" he asked worriedly. Lily was shocked, as this had not been what she had been expecting to come out of his mouth. Maybe an innuendo, or a joke, or even anger or jealously at seeing her and Sirius together. _But we're not together._

"Er...Yes, I suppose I only had a few hours of sleep last night. So when I woke up so early, I decided to get ready and come down here to read. Apparently, so had Sirius. Sorry for waking you James." she said sheepishly.

"You know I only woke up for you lov'" Sirius said, grinning. Lily scoffed, and began to head up the stairs to her dormitory, passing James as she went. He stopped her gently, with his hand on her arm; and looked into her eyes with his deep hazel ones.

"Hope you sleep better tonight Lily." he said softly, smiling solemnly. She nodded, and hastened up the stairs, with James watching her retreating back.

"You got it bad brotha'" Sirius said, still grinning like a fool, and swinging his arm around James' shoulders.

"You have no idea..." James whispered.

----

A/N: Thank you so much for your great reviews. I do reply to them, with they new messaging option; so please continue reviewing! Lots of love, and another update before Christmas; Summer

PS: I reposted this story...so feel free to read it over. The prologue is all new, and chapters have been merged. Also, I posted a one-shot on l/j and the MWPP era Learning to Hold On. Its cute, but kinda darker than this story is at this point. Check it out, and please review! ; ) Summer


	9. Yuletide Balls and Such

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (I wasted my last two cents paying off my brother!) so don't bother suing me!

**A/N: **Happy Christmas, and all those other holidays as well! This is my little present for all you readers out there, you guys really make my day...ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 9:** Yuletide Balls and Such

After that one morning where it seemed everything had changed; life moved on. Plans for the Yuletide Ball were wrapped up, as well as Christmas presents; some members of our Hogwarts family went home to their families for the holidays; and James' smile became more and more shy around Lily. And then finally, it was the day of the Yuletide Ball.

----

The dormitories of the fifth, sixth, and seventh year Gryffindor girls, were enveloped in utter chaos. Gowns, shoes, purses, and cruel-looking hair implements, were flying. Especially within our favourite dorm; which housed Lily, Raina, Tessa, Brianna, and Alice Prewett--yes, yes she is the younger sister of Gideon Prewett, and yes, yes things have been tense between her and Lily the past few weeks. But no matter. Currently, one strappy pink heel was balanced on the doorknob leading into the dorm, and the room was filled with numerous scents of perfume. Gowns of all colours, sizes, and styles were draped haphazardly across their beds, which had been pushed together in the centre of the room for the occasion.

In the corner, Raina was patiently explaining to Alice exactly how to perform a slight disillusionment charm to hide that niggly extra kilo for the night. Tessa was dancing around with her favourite stuffed monkey, doing a simple two-step across their beds. Brianna was sulking in the other corner, as she despised men, and found Balls an utter waste of time. This, of course, did not stop her from dressing gorgeously in a black satin number that matched her raven hair.

And Lily, well she was just sitting there, staring into space. Thinking about friends, enemies, and love. And maybe James, and where he now stood in those three categories. That sure was a difficult question. In the past month, starting on the day of her breakup with Gideon, things had changed. Very quickly. And it was kinda frightening for things to change so fast. They had been enemies, and the Marauders had all seemed like prats; but now it was different. They were her friends, and especially James. She loved his smile.

----

It was Christmas Eve, and although there was a Ball only hours in the future, nothing could stop Sirius from acting like a hyperactive six-year-old. By this I mean, that he was bounding around the room in a manner quite like Tessa, in the dormitory only a couple of meters away from his own. But instead of using a stuffed monkey as a dance partner, or even his stuffed bear Philip, he was dragging a confused-looking Peter around the room with him. Remus was reclining in the corner, chuckling in disbelief at the comical scene unfolding before him. Sometimes our friend here, harboured some kind of want, need even, to be more James-ish, or even a tiny bit more Sirius-ish. People seemed to love them so, and he seemed a little less "brilliant" in the glittering way, next to them. They were the supernovas, and he was the substantially smaller star in the sky. Peter was the meteor, crashing to Earth. No wonder his name was Sirius, you know?

But on nights like these, when Sirius was being, _so_ Sirius, Remus felt a little pride in himself, in that he would never knowingly act such a fool. So it was times like these, when Remus puffed up his thin chest, and could easily say "I am the smart one."

And James, well he was just sitting there, staring into space. Thinking about friends, enemies, and love. And how much Lily had come to mean to him in such a short time. He had thought really seriously about asking her to this blasted Ball so many times, but somehow he could never get it out. His Gryffindor side was definitely taking a back seat these days. It was just, when she smiled at him with her one dimple, and her tiny white teeth, it completely disarmed him. Just like that first night, and all those other times in the past month, it was as if all thoughts were cleared from his mind, except...how perfect and great Lily was. And on those blessed days on which she hugged him, well...that was heaven. And he began to understand more and more how well she fit against him. In his arms. Like she was so small, and he could protect her from anything. The way her head fit under his chin, and how she clung to him sometimes for a little over ten seconds. It was just...amazing. And he was beginning to understand that he couldn't imagine a life without her there everyday. And that was that.

----

The Ball was coming up very soon, within the hour now. And so, of course our sixth year girls were almost ready. Now, in case you do not understand, in a sixteen-year-old girl's phrase book, "almost ready" means that she is barely out of the shower. And so now, with this knowledge, I hope you can imagine the state the dorm was now in. Tessa had only just stopped dancing around the beds, in order slip into her gown. Well...if you could call it a gown. It would be better described as a rainbow. Every pigment was splashed against the shimmery fabric of her party dress. And paired with the aforementioned pink heels that were formally found on the doorknob, and glittery eyeliner, she could have looked a right mess. But somehow, it mixed with her personality perfectly, and she looked just...right I suppose.

So now that she was done and dressed, Tessa resumed dancing with her dear monkey across the beds, accidentally trodding upon various outfit pieces of her dorm mates', that were in her way. And as she did this, the dorm mates yelled and shrieked in the way only sixteen-year-old girls can, which frightened her enough, so that she jumped off the beds with a scream resembling a rapid hyena's, and continued dancing on the ground.

Now, without Tessa stepping upon their outfits, the girls resumed their getting-ready. Raina was once again in the corner with Alice, now curling her hair with her wand. At the same time, she was putting on her makeup. Don't ask me how she did this, because all I can tell you is that she is very talented in the beauty care arena... Alice was watching her from her seat on a burgundy stool, with a look of awe mixed with admiration. It can be said that Alice did not normally wear any makeup whatsoever, and so Raina's help was much appreciated, as she was trying to get dear Remus to notice her... And Brianna, was once again sulking as she tried to tame her beautiful hair, with a brush larger than her head. She of course, would not be wearing makeup, as her grandmother refused to let her, and she wouldn't touch the stuff with a ten-foot pole anyways.

And Lily, well she was ready already. As she had no date, and no prospective date, there was no real reason for her to get to fussy about her looks tonight. And so her curls tumbled down her back freely, and she was dressed in a cream-coloured dress that her mother had sent her, paired with elbow-length white gloves for fun. Plus, of course, her grandmother's pear earrings that she normally donned. Because Raina had complained, she _had _put on some mascara, and light blush, but that was all. She was a little confused to really get into the whole girlie spirit tonight. _Can't wait to see James' in a suit! I bet he looks mighty silly..._She thought, smiling into her mirror.

----

It was Ball time now. The girls were actually ready, only twenty minutes after it started, and so that headed down as soon as they could. And when they reached the Great Hall, all but Lily, was shocked at the decorations. It really was a beautiful sight. And the cold, snowy night shown through the ceiling was amazing. Well, to everyone except Lily. Throughout the whole winter season, she really hadn't been able to appreciate the snow, because of what happened on the first snow of year...

But that was a different story, for a different time, and now was a time of joy. And merriment, and food, and dancing, and James looking dashing in his black suit...Lily smiled, walking over to him, giving him a large hug. He smiled down at her as well, and mumbled that she looked nice.

Lily was about to respond that he looked dashing as well, in a slight joking manner, but her words were hushed as she heard someone call her name from behind her.

"Lis! Bonjour chéri de Lis!" As she heard this she spun around to see her first love, and best mate...Cupidon De'Lacure.

"_C'est l'amour_

_C'est lui que mon coeur à choisi_

_C'est merveilleux_

_C'est peut-être ça_

_C'est pour ça"_

--Edith Piaf

----

**A/N: **Well, that was my Christmas present, I hope you like the cliff hanger. I sure loved those great reviews. Thanks!

_PS_: Cupidon says "Lily! Hello Lily darling!", and the song can be translated to be "It is love

It is it that my heart in chosen It is marvelous It is perhaps this It is for this."

Hope you enjoy and review!


	10. The Such Part of Yuletide Balls

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (actually today I do have money from Christmas, but I'm going shopping today anyways...) so don't bother suing me! ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 10:** The "Such" Part of Yuletide Balls

Lily was shocked. In those past few weeks since she had sent the letter, she could grudgingly admit that Cupidon had not been the most prominent person on her mind. That, unfortunately had been James.

Unfortunately; because of the large-scale rivalry between them. The TriWizard Tournament had been insane, filled with numerous pranks from both of them, with James usually starting the "prank wars", but with Cupidon definitely retaliating in full. And so, this is why she thought it was very unfortunate, that Cupidon De'Lacure had walked into the Hogwarts Great Hall, to see Lily, his supposed date, hugging the aforementioned rival. It was not as if, Cupidon had not expected her to date after they broke up, in fact, he had been the one confidant in all of her romantic problems; but the fact that James Potter could be one of her new interests--which she wasn't saying he was!--seemed to bother him intensely.

But Lily couldn't really blame him, as she _had_ asked him to come with her to this Ball, as a favour. And he _had_ gotten all spiffed up for the occasion, she had to admit. His brunette hair was just as long and smooth as it had been when she had seen him last, and his bright blue eyes were still as magical. But now, he was looking at James as if he was a spot of dung on his shoe. That was what James Potter was to Cupidon De'Lacure, a dungbomb waiting to go off.

He approached the two, who had since separated quite shamefacedly, and put his arm around Lily's waist protectively. Lily almost thought it was a sweet gesture; until he spoke in a sickly, sugar-filled voice, and glared daggers at James with his sprightly eyes.

"Lis mon cher! Comment avez-vous été ? Did you by any chance forget that you and I had a _date_ tonight?" he asked with the same sickly sweet voice, looking at her with one eye, the other still trained on James. James, in fact, was taking this whole exchange quite well, as he didn't have his wand out yet, and he wasn't throwing any of the dungbombs that (Cupidon felt) described his personality. Lily, for another matter, was blushing brightly, and all she could do was stand there, hoping to Merlin and Agrippa that nothing got much worse than this. But of course, nothing can just go somewhat terribly. Fate has a funny way of going whole-hog on whatever it takes upon itself.

And so, of course, this was the night it all went to hell.

----

"I've got headaches and bad luck but they couldn't touch you, no"

--Fall Out Boy, Of All the Gin Joints in all the World

----

Hell, utter hell. _Shouldn't it be a lot warmer?_ James sighed, trying to swallow his pride and walk away from this Frenchy buffoon. That was who James was now, he was the better man. And nothing that had happened in fourth year could change that.

Ack. But that Frenchy buffoon had said something that hit him like the Knight Bus on a good day. _I wonder when they are going to replace that crazy driver, he's getting up in years isn't he..._ James thought distractedly. But what bothered him so much, was that he had said that Lily had a date with him that night. A date. As in they were back together.

So that was what Lily had been doing in the Owlery that night. Now, it was almost painful for James to think of that night, when it had been one of his greatest memories only moments before. Now, that French idiot was standing there, eyeing him up, challenging him, with his arm draped "oh-so-casually" around Lily's waist. Now, James was angry. Furious even. He could feel the smoke coming out of his ears, almost as if he had swallowed one of Madam Pomfrey's Pepper Up Potions. Because now, that French fool was speaking to Lily, laughing with her; and Lily didn't look to comfortable. She looked almost nervous, which was the last straw in James' opinion. Anyone who made Lily upset, was definitely on his "Hex List".

"So Frenchy--Oh, yes, I mean De'Lacure, is it? We have all really missed you the past two years. We haven't heard _anything_ about you, even from dear Lily here. Wonder why she hasn't mentioned you, after all, I do talk to her _all _the time." James said, through gritted teeth, fists clenching at his side. Lily rolled her eyes at the both of them, and struggled to stifle the imminent duel.

"Yes, yes Cupidon. Its so great to see you again. I see you have remembered James Potter, or at least he has remembered you." she said with a condescending half-smile at the two of them, who were trying--yet not succeeding--to act civil toward each other, and mask their hatred. " I can't believe you made it, though I must admitt I had not expected that you would come, as I never got a letter confirming that you were in fact coming at all." she finished, with a soft look toward Cupidon.

"Bien ... it is good to see you again mon cher Lis. Although I am surprised at the company you have kept in my absence. It seems that your taste in men has décliné beaucoup since I have last seen you, even Prewett seems like a better choice à mon opinion. Alas, I cannot make your decisions for you. Although I am slightly disappointed that you have made another date for tonight." he said, with a distasteful glance at James. James smiled in return. _De'Lacure thinks Lily is my date!_ he thought, almost doing a victory dance right there. But it would have been short-lived, as Lily spoke quickly after Cupidon had finished.

"Oh no Cupidon! James and I... er... we aren't... you know... here on a date! I was just giving him a hug when you walked in, we're just friends, really!" Lily sputtered, her face flushing an even darker shade of pink. Cupidon, tightened his hold around her waist at this, with a disgustingly obnoxious look on his face. James gagged.

"Okay Lily, I'll go now. I see that you want to spend time with your _date_ now, but when you're tired of him, you know where to find me." he said, turning away from her, with a small smile. Inside he knew that Lily was starting to be one of his greatest friends, and that she did like him in a way now; but seeing Cupidon with his arm around her waist so casually, just reminded him of everything he couldn't have with her. And it hurt.

He had tried, hadn't he? He had been good, he had been sweet, he had been funny, and he had been her friend most of all. It was as if, whenever he wanted something terribly, it was the one thing he couldn't have. Bad luck seemed to follow him. And tonight was no exception. And now, he was getting mad again. The smoke was returning around his ears, he could feel it. And it took all of the strength and courage he had, to not spin right back around and hex that French buffoon right back to where he had come from.

It was supposed to be his and Lily's night. He had planned what he would say to her and everything. He was even going to tell her how he felt. And for a sixteen-year-old guy, this is a very big deal. And requires much of the Gryffindor courage that James strove to show at all times. But sometimes, as in matters of such importance, courage was one thing that was hard to find. And now the courage that he had saved up for the occasion would have to wait. _Ah well._ _The best laid plans of mice and men..._

----

Lily was having a night to rival James'. Although Cupidon had dropped the French-prat act, she was really worried about James. He looked about ready to kill someone when he had stalked off before. And they had been getting on so well lately. This was the last thing they needed, she supposed.

Lily tried to laugh, and dance, and smile throughout the night. She really did, and valiantly as well. But acting was not one of her many talents. So of course, an hour into the Ball, Cupidon led her toward a table and began to speak to her in a somewhat serious tone, his eyes heavy.

"Lis, mon cher, I know that I am not the one you wish to be with tonight. I only wish that you had spoken to me before... I do not blame you, and as surprising as it is, I do not blame him. I, may know better than most, that love is a strange creature. And maybe that Prewett fellow wasn't so wrong about your feelings about that boy. Maybe he was who you wanted all along. And I am in the way now. Lis, I love you and you know this, but I will not stand in the way of what you want and need. Hopefully you understand, why I am leaving this Ball now. Good night Lis, and do what you must." he said gently, kissing her softly on her slightly flushed cheeks, and standing to leave. He turned, gave her a short wave, and walked out of the Great Hall doors. And all Lily could do, was stare at his retreating back and try to process what he had said.

Who was the "he" that he had spoken of? The way he spoke of him, it was as if Lily was in love with him. And Lily wasn't in love with anyone to be sure... She looked toward the snowy scene portrayed on the ceiling. And for the second time that season, she actually found the snow beautiful. Gorgeous and pure in fact.

So that was the reason she gave herself, for standing up right then, and walking out of Hogwarts into the snow. That was the reason she gave herself, for swirling and dancing out in the fat snowflakes. That was the reason she gave herself, for lying down on the ground and making a snow angel right there in her cream-coloured gown and elbow-length gloves.

But why did she feel she needed a reason?

----

So this was the way James Potter found Lily ten minutes later, after looking for her for that amount of time. Laughing at seemingly nothing, moving her arms and legs back and forth, making snow angels in the two foot snow drifts. And though it might have seemed insane to anyone who wasn't in love with her, James happened in fact, to be in love with her. So it seemed the simplest thing in the world, even logical. So that was the reason he gave himself, for lying right down with her in the two foot snow drifts, moving his arms and legs back and forth, and making snow angels. So that was the reason he gave himself, for laughing at nothing in the world, with the girl he loved in the freezing cold.

And nearly an hour later, that was still the reason he gave himself, for waltzing up through the corridors of Hogwarts, to Gryffindor Tower with the frozen girl he loved. And it was, of course, the reason he gave himself, for kissing her cheek softly, before he waltzed up to his dormitory with a short wave.

Someday, maybe the reason Lily had for doing anything, would be the same as his...

----

**A/N:** Hope you liked it. I wasn't really sure about it, but something had to happen, and so it did.

Enjoy and review!


	11. One for All

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (don't look at me, I have to buy a dress for a quince!) so don't bother suing me! ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 11: **One for All

So that was how if went that night. The night that almost went to hell. But somehow it morphed into one of the best nights of their lives, despite so many obstacles. And they were together, all of them together.

To people like James, who knew the depths of the evil that surrounded the castle walls, nights like that Christmas Eve blew his mind. It just gave him proof that no matter how much darkness there was in the world, there would always be good somewhere. Even if that good was only a couple of friends dancing and making snow angels. No matter what it was--all that mattered was that it was there.

----

A week later, after Christmas had passed joyfully and loudly, it was New Years Eve. And on that snowy day, Lily Evans could be found sitting in the Library, watching snowflakes fall with joy. A book, left unread, lay open in her lap, and her head was in her hands.

Like most people that day, Lily was reflecting on the year that was coming to an end. She had decided that the theme, was friendship. The Marauders, those boys that she had always held so far away from herself and her friends, had somehow pushed there way into her life. And just like that night in the Owlery with James; she couldn't imagin life without them. And it almost made her sad, that she had lived so long at this school without knowing them, without ever giving them a chance. _Just because of that stupid inkbottle..._

The Marauders were not who she had believed them to be. They were not playboys, and pranksters. Jocks, and intellects. They were most definitly not labels, because no one label could describe any of these boys. They each had so much under their skin, that Lily was only beginning to understand.

Sirius Black was the "ladies man". He strutted, he flirted, and he dated as many girls as he could. That was who Lily had always percieved him as. But he hadn't been such a flirt as of late, and he could be serious--no pun intended of course. He just exuted a flair of elegance that most could never dream of, and Lily sometimes found her self just mesmerized by him. He was the epitome of class, and "old-magic". But Lily could'nt help but notice the darkness in his gray eyes, how they had flashed when she had asked him if he was going home for the holiday... Lily sighed, knowing that this was just another part of Sirius Black that she would not understand for a time.

Remus Lupin was the Prefect, and the smartest by far. He looked somewhat peaky constantly, and he spoke in a deep, gentle voice. This was the extent of what most people chose to find out about Mr. Lupin. But Lily and her friends knew better. Yes, Remus seemed to be the boring one of the group. But when you really spoke to him, spent time with him... he was an enigma. His clear blue eyes did not do his sould justice, and his sandy hair did well to hide his premature streaks of gray. There was just something about the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. It was as if he was saying, "Yes, you have no idea who I am." And it was maddening.

And Peter Pettigrew; well even there, there is more than meets the eye. He wasn't just Sirius and James' spaniel. He had a free mind, and he often attempted to join in the witty banter of his comrades. But, like a spaniel, he was extremely loyal. That was one of his main attributes. If he was on your side, you knew that he would be a great ally; not for his talents--which were few and far between--but for his loyalty. Although you could say that the loyalty as driven by fear, or even self-loathing... But no matter. He was loyal to the Marauders, and there was no getting rid of him.

When you take one Marauder, you take them all.

----

Up in the sixth year Gryffindor boy's dorm, Remus sat reading a large maroon tome. Sirius was lazily charming his socks to dance in a conga line down the stretch of the dirty floor. Peter, of course, was watching fascinated, and eting a dwindling pile of Chocolate Frogs. James, was outside on the Quidditch pitch, despite the snow and the cold, to get in one last run for the year.

"Whotcher Moony?" Peter asked simply, prying his eyes from Sirius' sock congo line. Remus looked up, tiredly, and sighed.

"Well, I was reading. And trying to block out Sirius' stupidity, and misuse of magic." he said, his deep voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey! I resent that!" Sirius cried, feigning hurt feelings. "I will avenge my honor, die you lycan villan!" he yelled, letting out a war cry and charging at Remus with a pillow outstretched. Sadly though, for Sirius, Remus had heightened reflexs from the past full moon, and already had his wand out by the time Sirius had begun his valiant charge. And so, Sirius was sent dancing like his forgotten socks, out of the dorm. It goes without saying that the door slammed shut behind him and was immediately locked.

Sirius was now left outside in the Commons, with nothing but his wand, and a dancing complex on New Year's Eve. For you see, Sirius wasn't quite as brilliant as Professor Slughorn believed him to be, and so he did not realize that he could free himself from the infamous conga line he was now making all by himself.

So, what was an oblivious Sirius Black to do? Why, start a New Year's Eve, House-wide conga line, of course!

----

This was the state Lily Evans found the Gryffindor Commons in when she returned later on that night. A hexed Sirius having a grand ol' time at the head of an enormous conga line, that included most all Gryffindor, even the tiny First Years and the gangly Fourth Years. And Remus, the only Prefect in attendence, rolling on the floor laughing incredibly hard and pointing at the sight.

So, what was a confused Lily Evans to do? Why, join the conga line, of course!

----

With less than an hour left in 1976, things were pretty much the same as when Lily first entered the party. A little more Butterbeer of course, and Sirius was no longer hexed--though he was still dancing. Despite this, Gryffindor Tower wasn't in any terrible stat at this point. But that would probably change by midnight.

Lily was sitting comfortably on one of the squashy orange couches near the fire, sipping a Butterbeer that had thankfully been supplied by the Marauders. _I probably should be trying to calm down these students._ Lily mused. After all, un-authorized parties were technically against the rules that, as a Prefect, Lily was supposed to be enforcing. But on holidays, and days of Quidditch victories, even McGonagall looked the other way.

"Li-Lill-ieee?" a slurred voice called out to her. She looked up to the flushed and disheveled Gideon Prewett, and grimaced. They hadn't spoken for ages, ever since he had broken up with her. And being with him, was not how she had planned on ending 1976, or starting 1977 for that matter.

"What do you want Prewett?' Lily said coldly, angling her body away from him.

"I want to apo-logice." he said drunkenly. It was obvious that _he_ hadn't been drinking Butterbeer. "Youse see, I been thinkin' that I was'n arse. A BIG FAT ARSE!" he screamed, swinging his arms about. Lily groaned and stood. But before she could walk away from him to find Raina, he grabbed her waist from behind, and pulled her roughly to him. Through her kicking and flailing, she could be heard saying one thing over and over again.

"I hate you!" she finally screamed. When Gideon heard this, even in his drunken stupor, he stopped, and held her at arms length. his eyes narrowed, and his face became contorted.

"What did youse say?" he questioned slowly, barely stuttering. She pulled his arms off of herself, and spoke again, now more quietly, but with her green eyes burning.

"I hate you." she said. He shook his head in disbelief and scoffed, swaggering closer to her again. He whispered in her ear, and she shivered, disgusted.

"I don't need youse, babe. No one would ever love you, slut." he said, pulling his arms around her small frame. At his words, Lily snapped. She spun around in his arms, slapped him, and stormed away.

Well... at least she tried to storm away. But she ended up running right into a tall figure, whom she promptly kissed just as the great Gryffindor clock struck midnight.

Two guesses on who it was.

----

And so, that was their first kiss. They played it off quite well, and tried to brush it off as just a desperate measure to get away from Gideon Prewett. But somehow, even as they gave their excuses and tried to fight their deep blushes, neither of them believed what they were saying.

The cogs were turning, and you can't stop time.

----

"_Yes, she caught my eye, as a wanton boy. She could see from my face, that I was flying high..."_

-James Blunt, Back to Bedlam (Clean Version has different lyrics)

**A/N:** Hope you liked it, sorry it took so long. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing (for those of you who are so kind as too... I'm making cupcakes for newcomers!)

Well, love and happy readings;

Maia


	12. Of Parchment and Slugs

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (my baby sitting job is hitting an all-time low) so don't bother suing me! ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 11: **Of Parchment and Slugs

Another year, another term. Yes, it was back to work for our Hogwart's Sixth Years. And with the start of a new term, came the inevitable "review exam" in Potions. Although this was one of Lily's best and favourite subjects, there was always the problem of having to make small talk with Professor Slughorn and the other members of his "Slug Club". Yes, Lily Evans was a member of the infamous click, although she wasn't sure why. Most of the members were purebloods, or had famous relatives. She, on the other hand, was a muggle-born, and had no fabulous connections for him to boast of at Hogwarts Alumni Meetings. But, despite this, Lily did have to go to Potions class, make small talk, and attend the Slug Club parties along with Sirius, James, and Brianna.

Sirius and James were obviously there for their talent and extensive family lines. Brianna, on the other hand, was there because of her distant connections with a man high up in the Ministry, a Cornelius Fudge by name. It was said that he would be the Minister someday. He was her second cousin, twice removed, but he was always popping up at the Blackberry family reunions, with his loud bowler hat in hand.

So they were the main Gryffindor members. There was that little First Year, whose mother was a wealthy socialite, but he was only a periphery member. He rarely attended the parties, because most ignored him, or pulled pranks on him (the present Marauders of course). He was the only First Year in attendance. The rest of the Slug Club was made up of the youngest of the Malfoy clan--no one could ever remember his name, he was a quite quiet fellow; Fabian Prewett (Gideon's twin brother); Theodore Nott, a dark and intelligent seventh year; and some Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff that were mainly there to take up space.

But anyway, back to Potions class. During the time in the holiday, when students were not partying and celebrating the various holidays, they had all been cramming for this review exam. It was a major percentage of their grade for the year, and it was rumoured that Edmond Flint (a Slytherinn Seventh Year) had failed a year because of it, and had been made to take his seventh year again.

So, of course, this particularly dreary Monday morning, Lily had already finished her exam scads before the period was over, and was just sitting at her bench reading. Then all of a sudden, a small piece of parchment landed on her side of the desk. She looked up, with her eyes slightly lidded, to the thrower of the parchment. Hazel eyes twinkled back at her from across the room.

Smiling slightly, Lily slowly unwrinkled the folded parchment, and began to read. The handwriting was loose, small, and messy--exactly as she would've imagined.

_Lily:_

_Finished already? Little smarty-pants. But we all find something lovable in you, now don't we? _

_Please distract me. I'm done too._

_--James_

Lily smiled, her eyes crinkling gaily. After all that talk about her being a "smarty-pants", and then he says that he is done as well! _Crazy fool._ She thought, still smiling. Lily turned to face him slightly, in her seat, and almost laughed as he motioned dramatically for her to write back. Shaking her head no, she put her finger over her lips to silence him. At his frown, and furrowed brows, Lily waved him away laughingly. "Evans, I should think that you should be concentrating on your exam like the rest of this class. If you want to flirt with Potter, do it where other people won't have to watch." a harsh-sounding whisper came from beside her. Severus Snape was her Potions partner. It really wasn't as bad as most would imagine, especially if one had been speaking with the Marauders. For reasons Lily could not understand, the Marauders hated Snape, and Snape hated them.

Lily had been Potions partners with Snape ever since they began schooling at Hogwarts. Slughorn seemed to think that putting two of the most adept potion-brewers together in class, was a good idea, and stuck with it every year. And so, through their many double Potions periods with the Slytherinn, Lily had come to get to know him pretty well. They were even almost friends. They had had a falling out during OWLs the past year, when he had insulted her in front of the whole school, but they had eventually worked it out. In other words, Lily had gotten over it, and Snape had never spoken of it again besides a brief apology.

He was cold, rude, and incredibly intelligent. Lily could not really understand why she bothered trying to speak with him, as most chose to _not_ try. But he was interesting in a way. Lily was a firm believer in the idea that there is good in all people. And Severus Snape was most certainly human.

She always liked a challenge as well. "Well Severus, shouldn't you be paying attention to your exam as well? Or would you like to join our note-chain, with people who have already finished?" Lily joked quietly. The only response she was given, was a particularly nasty glare from Snape.

----

Raina was sitting in the Commons, revising for a History of Magic exam the next week. She realized that this was not a normal thing to do, but her excuse was that "Lily rubs off on you, ya' know?". Her eyes trained on the heavy tome in front of her, she did not notice a dark figure walk quietly up behind her. And so, of course, she almost had a heart attack when two arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind.

"SIRIUS BLACK! Take your ruddy arms off me, you ruddy wanker, you" she screamed, clutching the couch pillows, trying to calm herself. Her heart pumped loudly in her ears, so that she barely heard what he said next as he threw himself onto the couch next to her.

"No need to get so fussy, Raina lov'. I come in peace." He said, holding his arms above his head in sign of surrender. Raina frowned slightly, and sighed, angling her body away from him.

"What do you want Sirius?" she asked, in a bored manner. At this, his eyes lit up, and his mouth opened wide in anticipation of a stupid remark. Unfortunately for Sirius, he never did get to say his "witty" remark, as Raina stifled his voice with her hand over his large, laughing, mouth.

"Actually, I really don't care to find out Black. Will you please do me a favour, and leave?" she asked, feigning sweetness, and batting her long eyelashes sarcastically.

"Well, for you... anything lov'. Someday, you'll give me a chance, you just wait and see." Sirius said, as he jumped off the couch, and skipped up the stairs to his dorm. Raina rolled her eyes, and blew the banana-coloured hair out of her eyes.

"Some never learn do they?" She questioned quietly. And to her surprise, a little first year squeaked a knowledgeable "no" in response, accompanied by a tiny shrug.

----

**A/N:** Yes yes, I realize that this is a little short and pointless. But I also realize that I have not updated in a while, and so, I wanted to have to posts up as soon as I could. The thing is, that the Internet is down in my house, so I am having quite a time trying to get this up. Hope you all haven't forgotten me! Cupcakes for reviewers!

Love.

Maia


	13. Purely Platonic

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (my mom's birthday is coming up) so don't bother suing me! ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 13: **Purely Platonic

"Lily, may I have a word?" Lily looked up, into the pale face of Remus John Lupin. She smiled, and beckoned him to sit in the wooden chair next to her. Bright light spilled in from the Library windows, and made reading the large texts in front of her, a simple task.

"Of course, Remus. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" she said, angling her body in her seat to face him. Remus cleared his throat uncomfortably, and blushed slightly. Motioning for him to go on, Lily smiled slightly.

"Well, you see, I just wanted ot know what you wanted from James."

And there it was. The question that had been on the tips of everyone's tongue. Lily should've seen it coming, what with how queer the Marauders had been acting in the past week since New Years. It had been only a matter of time. But now; Lily hadn't expected it to be Remus who would be the one to ask. For some inexplicable reason, he was one of those people who always surprised you. No matter how hard you tried to predict what he would do or say next, he always managed to pull the wool over your eyes so effortlessly, so that it seemed as if he never even tried.

"Erm... Well Remus, you know that James and I are only friends." she said, turning her bright eyes back to the open books lying in front of her. Remus smirked, and tried to stifle a laugh.

"So, purely platonic friends go around snogging each other on New Years Eve, then? Because you and I both know that Sirius and I were snogging buddies last week." he allowed a small laugh to burst through his thin lips. "Well now, I must alert the Muggles at Oxford. The certainly have the definition wrong in their dictionary..." he said sarcastically, turning his body toward Lily, and creating a feeling of secrecy and conspiracy in the small corner of the Library.

"Lily, now I'm going to say this once. You. Fancy. James." Remus pronounced frankly. Then he proceeded to chuckle quietly, as he was recalling a similar conversation he had had with James only a few months prior. But Lily, who had, up until this point, remained quiet and calm, did not know of this conversation, and was thoroughly confused and upset at his words and laughter.

"Remus Lupin. I do not fancy James, and as a mutual friend of ours, I think that you should be one person who knows this. That kiss... was an accident. A fluke, if you will. It meant absolutely nothing. Both I, and James have tried to impress that in all of your heads. Why are you all so bloody thick!" Lily exclaimed, raising her voice toward the end of her tirade. Her green eyes were blazing with something between uncertainty and anger. If Remus didn't know better, he would think that he had struck a nerve. And as Lily stood up, fuming, and began to storm off, he called out one last assertion, in a slightly singsong manner.

"Think about it Evans!"

----

And think about it she did. For the next two weeks, Lily avoided James like the plague. She never stopped at their usual haunts, never waited for him at the end of a lesson, and ate at the opposite end of Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Whenever he was in the Commons, she left the room, surrounded by a group of her friends. When he tried to speak to her, or grab her attention, one of her friends rushed in with something "important" to tell her, and stole her away with a pitying and guilty look on their faces. Even Tessa, whom James thought he could count on because of her many similarities to his best mate Sirius, only shot him a sorrowful look that said simply, "Sorry, but there ain't much I can do 'bout it mate." And it was driving him mad.

He couldn't figure out what he had done wrong, to bother her so. Things had been going great between them, until that first week in January. One day, she had just come back from the Library, in a huff, and had refused to tell him what had happened. She was giving him the silent treatment, and he wanted to know why.

Maybe it was the kiss. But that hadn't been his fault, and both Lily and he, knew that. True, he had enjoyed it immensely, but she had kissed him. Not the other way around. And there was no other reason why she should be mad at him, that he knew of.

He had been kind, funny, charming. He hadn't been a prick, or arrogant. He had tried so hard to make her laugh, and to make her smile. And for the past two weeks, he had not been able to do that, and it was killing him. He couldn't even turn to Moony now, because Moony seemed to be somewhat lacking in romantic advice these days. He seemed quite content to sit back and watch James make a fool of himself.

This could only go on so long until James Potter snapped.

----

Lily snapped to attention as she heard footsteps behind her. She looked around at the tall bookshelves, and large windows. As far as she knew, there probably wouldn't be anyone in the part of the Library. There usually wasn't, as it was a small corner containing lesser known authors and topics. Most students would never wander back into these stacks of large texts, unless of course, they knew exactly where they were going. It was so quiet, it was as if you could cut the musty air with a knife. Minutes later, Lily gave up on the idea of there being anyone there, and sighed, and let the musty, old-book smell that she loved so much, fill her lungs...

And then, the quiet was interrupted, and Lily's moment was gone. For James Potter was here in her little corner of the universe, and it seemed as if he was taking up a permanent residence.

----

"'Ello Lily, my dear. How have your last two weeks been?" James said in a sickly-sweet voice. His tone bit at Lily's ears, and she had the absurd feeling of wanting to cry.

"They've been g-" he cut her off right in the middle of her reply, and covered her mouth with his large, warm hand.

"I'm not done Lily. I can't do anything to change my personality and mannerisms to your liking, unless you tell me what I am doing wrong. You have been avoiding me for two weeks straight, and I can tell by your eyes, that it has been killing you as much as it has been killing me." Yes, sure he was bluffing, and he knew it. And he prayed to Merlin and Agrippa that she had missed him, or he would've just blown it. And apparently, he couldn't afford another mess-up.

"I have tried so hard to show you the side of me that isn't a prankster, and a prat. I've worked night and day to remodel myself to your liking. And it seemed like things were going great between us, and that we might actually start being good friends. And then. You come back from this bloody place one day, and everything changes. Suddenly, I'm not good enough any more, and you ignore me for the longest time. Do you know how terrible that was? I've been tossing and turning trying to figure what I have done wrong. And I can't do it. So please," his strong, deep voice cracked at this, and he gently turned her face to look at him properly. "Please tell me what I've done wrong by you. I'll fix it, I promise. Just tell me..." And his eyes were so solemn, so pleading, that Lily was at a loss for words. She knew that this was the worst possible time to not know what to say, but she didn't. His eyes... they were deeper, and more passionate than when she had first seen him, that night back in December. So full of conviction and emotion, as if this conversation, and her part of it, was the most important thing in the world to him.

And so Lily Evans was left speechless by James Potter. And, deciding that actions may speak louder than words, she pulled him into the tightest and warmest hug, either of them had ever experienced. At first, he was surprised and hesitant, but he soon began to hug back. His arms wrapped around her small frame, and found their place around her shoulders and waist. And right then and there, pressed up against each other like their life depended on it, they both realized that what James had said earlier was entirely true. The time they had spent apart had been destroying both of them, and at that moment Lily had her first revelation.

She never wanted to stop hugging James Potter.

----

**AN:** Well I hope you liked it. I just finished watching the Olympics, women's figure skating competition. It ws amazing, how Sasha Cohen put so much of herself and her soul into her performance, even when she fell. That was one of my inspirations for the end of this chapter. This has been a long time coming, and has gone through many revisions. Heads Up; Valentines Day is fast approaching, as is a birthday or two. Oh yeah, and I have written a new one-shot, all dialogue fic. Please check it out if you have a chance, and as always, reviews brighten up any boring day!

Love,

Maia


	14. Maybe I'm Amazed

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (I'm going to see Wicked on Broadway!) so don't bother suing me! Chapter title is a title of a song by Paul McCartney, and therefore not mine. ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chapter 14: **Maybe I'm Amazed

"She's so confusing! I mean, one minute she's ignoring me, and the next, she's hugging me like there's no place she'd rather be. Now, I'm not complaining about the hug, but I wish she would just be straight with me. Does she fancy me or not?" James finished with an exasperated sigh. He was lying upside-down off his four poster bed, his eyes trained on Remus Lupin. Remus was lounging on the floor with a large, threadbare pillow, and chewing absently on a bar of Honeyduke's Best Chocolate. Sirius Black was standing near James' bed, leaning against one of the posts, and it seemed as if he was struggling to stay awake. It was incredibly apparent that he had heard such tirades many times before. And Peter Pettigrew, well he was attempting to look cool, casual, and clam like the others, and was failing miserably. He was twitching around so much that Remus reached one of his hands to quiet him.

Remus stretched and sat up. "Prongs, I don't know what she wants from you. Believe me, I tried to find out, but she only stormed out of the Library. That girl sure has a temper..." Remus finished absently. James shot up from his comfortable position so fast that he hit his head on the top of his four poster.

"What did you say to her?" James said in an eerily calm tone. His knuckles were white, and he looked about ready to explode. Unfortunately, Remus didn't notice, and answered promptly in a slightly amused tone.

"I just told you. I asked her what she wanted from you." Remus answered innocently. At these words, James let out a howl of despair. It rivaled even those of the present werewolf on full moons. He began to bang his head methodically, on the hard-wood of his bed, and chant "You didn't... You didn't..." over and over again. But he had, and now James knew why Lily had been ignoring him for so long. Moony, his best mate, had done him in. And now he had to apologize to Lily for him.

"Why Remus? Why'd you do it? Do you hate me? Because if you do, I'll understand. You and LIly can make a bloody I Hate Potter Club. We can make buttons!" James paused, flinging himself back on his bed. "I'm gonna kill myself." He held his head in his hands. Remus looked to Sirius guiltily. Sirius took the hint, and walked to James' shaking side.

"There, there, Jamesie. She doesn't hate you. And Moony here, doesn't hate you either. He was just trying to help push things along. And now that she's speaking to you again, I think that you should be thanking ol' Moony here for planting a seed. Merlin knows you haven't been." Sirius finished, mussing up James' hair playfully.

James sat up, slightly mollified, and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you meant well Moony. And I guess you must have struck a nerve if she got all mad..." The room let out a collective sigh of relief. James Potter, was back.

"And oh, well if I ever caused you trouble, Oh no, I never meant to do you harm... Oh no I see

A spider web and it's me in the middle, So I twist and turn, Here am I in my little bubble "

-Trouble, Coldplay

----

"Hey Lily?" Lily shifted her lounging position on the couch, to face James. They were in the Commons, revising for the Arithmancy exam the next day. It was an old-fashioned all-nighter, complete with copious amounts of coffee, tea, chocolate, and popcorn. And pillows. Lots of over-stuffed pillows and blankets, in rich Gryffindor scarlet and gold. Lily rolled onto her stomach behindso that she could see James' face better, as he was sitting directly behind her head. In actuality, her head was resting on his leg, and she was quite comfortable.

"Yes James?" James cleared his throat, and avoided her bright emerald gaze.

"I'm sorry about Remus. he may be smart in classes, but he's pretty thick everywhere else." James said, shifting uncomfortably. Lily's face immediately flushed, remembering that particularly embarrassing conversation. And now that James knew about it... he would undoubtedly demand she answer the question.

"Er... Well I don't suppose it's your fault. I'm not sure why you would be apologizing," she replied shyly. Inside her head, she was screaming at him to stop it, and to not bring up that question, because Lily was not perfectly prepared to answer it. If only it could be like back in Second Year, when James and Sirius had took turns asking her out, in jest. Then, her answer had been clear. A given. A stiff "No", coupled with a sarcastic and witty insult. But now... things were different, and her answer was not predetermined.

"Lily?" James called out to her quietly. And there it was. Lily knew what he would say next, and she was becoming increasingly sure of her reply by the second. She looked up into his hazel eyes, and readied herself for his next words. Taking a deep breath, she motioned for him to go on, in a would-be calm manner.

"Do you... " he stopped and gave a sheepish grin. " Have the History of Magic notes for Monday? I had been up kinda late the night before, and I... fell asleep."

---

"Miss Evans! Pay attention please!" Lily started in her seat, and became vividly aware of the fact that she had not been paying attention to Professor Vector. In fact, she had been paying attention to James Potter's back. Realizing this, her face turned a bright red in embarrassment., and she hid her face in her hands. Why in the world would I want to stare at James' back? She thought desperately, quietly banging her head on her wooden desk. And then, in the middle of one of these continuous "bangs", Lily Evans had her second revelation.

James Potter had a quite sexy back.

"The wheels just keep on turning, The drummers begin to drum, I don't know which way I'm going, I don't know what I've become."

- Til Kingdom Come, Coldplay

In another corner of the room, a certain lycan watched Lily Evans closely, and smiled as he saw her frustrated banging. He had recognized the dead pan stare she had been giving James' back, only minutes before, and he knew what it meant. It meant that Remus John Lupin had been correct again, and he loved it.

---

"Evening, Lily." called out a calm, gay voice. Lily looked up with the pretense of a smile on her face. This quickly faded into a thin-set frown, reminiscent of the face she had worn when addressing James Potter in previous years. But now, it was directed at a sallow-faced Remus Lupin, standing confidently next to the couch she was lounging on. She tried to ignore him, but he was quite persistent, and sat down at the edge of her out-strectched feet. Playfully, he pretended to smell her feet, and wince, presumably at the unsavory smell. But his little pantomime of waving his hand in front of his nose, was cut short as Lily turned her icy glare towards him. She remained silent.

"Look Lily. I am sorry if I insulted you and you platonic relationship with James." And though his apology sounded extremely sincere, the word "platonic", was stressed slightly sarcastically. But only slightly. "I just hope that any of my, Sirius', or Peter's transgressions will not affect your friendship with James. He really cares for you, and when you were ignoring him, he was going crazy. And driving us up the wall. Feel blessed that you don't have to room with him." At this, Lily chuckled quietly in spite of herself. After all, he is one of James' best mates. I'm sure he meant well. Remus seemed to notice this light change of heart, and continued eagerly. "Lily... I really didn't mean to offend you. I just saw something between you two, and I wanted to bring it to your attention. Because James already knows." he finished, with an odd gleam in his eyes. Seeing the shocked expression on her face, he decided to drop one last bomb before he left her to her tumultuous thoughts. Standing, he placed his hand on her knee, "And Lily, Sirius fancies Raina. Just thought you should know."

---

**A/N: ** fin. Look out for the epilogue to Simple (yet quite stupid) Questions in the next few weeks. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated.

Love;

Maia


	15. Children

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (my friend Deborah's birthday party is coming up!) so don't bother suing me! ON WITH THE STORY!

**A/N:** I am changing the last names of Brianna, Tessa, and Raina. I feel that Appleskye, Blackberry, and Hampson are just not nice last names, and as these characters will be showing up more frequently in the future chapters, I feel that it is important to actually like my characters. Brianna's new last name is Richard's, Tessa's is Barclay, and Raina's is Gilbert. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 15: **Children

As the sun broke through the long windows, it was a rose-coloured dawn. The evergreen trees in the Forbidden Forest gleamed and shook the rain from their boughs as some lonesome songbird mourned in the distance. The Lake was murky, and had slightly-thawed ice floating in chunks across it's wide surface. Eventually, black-robed children with sleep drawn about their eyes like curtains over four-posters, padded down the stairs from their respective Common Rooms. Smells of breakfast brought them like children to the Pied Piper and his bewitched tune.

Minutes later, the clanking of golden forks, knives, and spoons, resounded through the high ceilinged Hall, and children commented gaily at the weather shown through the sky-strewn roof. Porridge was slurped, bacon was chomped, and pancakes were eaten by the dozen by a pair of overly ambitious Third Years. And of course, there was the last minute, half-hearted revising for that entirely important exam directly after breakfast. But everyone knows that it is quite impossible to revise while pancakes, jam on toast, and hot cereal are sitting right there on the long table in front of you. Hogwarts house elves were just too good at what they did.

And so, the foolish Fifth Years put away their notes, the Third Years continued to shovel fresh pancakes into their gaping maws, and the Great Hall subsided into casual banter and the occasional inter-House calls between friends. So barely anyone noticed when a sole, sleek grey owl flew agonizingly slowly down to it's recipient.

And so barely anyone noticed when a dark-haired girl rose from her seat equally as slowly, and broke into a frenzied run once she was clear of the Great Hall doors.

The owl gained momentum as it shot back into the sky. Messages such as this, where extremely difficult to bear, though they were no physical burden. Almost like a fugitive, running from it's crime, the owl sped away into the rose-colored sky.

----

Brianna listened to the soft rain falling quietly on the stone windows beside her. It was a light rain, that seemed as if it was only there for show. Nothing like the monsoon-like downpours that had been plaguing Hogwarts grounds for the past few days. This morning had been the only reprieve all week.

It was a dark February, and the night was cold and calm. The sky was devoid of the bright constellations that normally decorated the night, reminiscent of the Christmas tree that Hagrid put up in the Great Hall each year.

Brianna shivered against the cold windowpane, and burrowed deeper into the warm, knitted jumper. _It even still smells like him_… Brianna thought sadly. For you see, this jumper had belonged to her father, and this morning, Brianna had received a letter from the Ministry proclaiming her parent's deaths.

She turned her tired red eyes to the crumpled letter beside her, and allowed herself to read it for, what seemed like, the thousandth time. But no matter how many times she read it over, she always expected someone to scream a premature "April Fools!". But April was still months away, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that it was not a joke. No pesky Marauder was going to pop up and tell her it was fake. Her parents were dead.

They had died in this war. This terrible war against Lord Voldemort. They had died trying to defend amazing people like Lily, and Tessa. People who's only trespass was the "impurity" of their blood.

Her parents had been Aurors, great ones at that. They loved their work, and did their best to protect Muggles, Muggle-borns, and half-bloods. And now it seemed that it was up to her to take up this mission. It was now her duty.

Brianna shivered again, and let the tears fall. She was only sixteen, and she had enormous shoes to fill.

"Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"

-Sabriel, Garth Nix

----

News of the Richard's deaths hit Hogwarts like a sobering spell that winter. But life moved on, as it had the tendency to do, and the subject of the Richard's deaths was rarely mentioned in the days to come. Until, of course, the night before the funeral. That night, it was inescapable.

----

On this particular rainy Thursday night, the moon could barely be seen from it's place hidden behind the thick, smoky clouds. Inside the castle, conditions weren't much different. A blanket of solemnity covered all of the students, stilling their tongues and their laughter. It was almost as if everyone's parents had died.

Brianna was bent over, grabbing mismatched socks, and other articles of black clothing, and stuffing them into a large floral carpetbag. The robes, pants, and shirts, were all messy and unfolded, but Brianna didn't seem to care. She also didn't remember that she could've just waved her oak wand, and all of her belongings would be packed and ready to go.

Tessa was sitting on Brianna's bed, fidgeting from the silence. When she wasn't tossing things into the open carpetbag, she had her hands under her legs to still them. All in all, she looked like a rather unruly child put into time out.

Alice was nowhere to be seen, though it was likely that she was off with her Hufflepuff friends and Frank Longbottom. They were sill in that awkward stage in which no one was positive if the two were going together or not; not even themselves.

And Lily was sitting on her bed, pretending to read a large red text. In reality, she was keeping an eye out for Brianna, with a concerned gleam in her eye. Brianna was beginning to scare her a little, as she had rarely spoken in the past days. Lily did not pretend to know what being an orphan felt like, but she did know that something in Brianna had died along wither her parents.

Without speaking, Lily stood from her place on her bed, and walked slowly over to Brianna. Gently, she wrapped her thing, strong arms around Brianna's frame, and whispered soothing words in her ears. The words were all nonsense, but neither of them cared. For it didn't matter what was said, only that the silence was broken.

Brianna sobbed, and collapsed into Lily's arms. For the rest of the night, the two sat there on the floor in what could be a life-saving embrace.

---

Outside the girl's dormitory, the mood was much the same. Everyone knew what the next day would bring, and so the Common Room was quieter than usual. Only a few people even bothered to venture out of their dormitories any more, and so the once-cheerful Common Room was sadly unoccupied. The few students who did venture out into the Room, sat in small clusters, speaking barely over a whisper.

On this night, the Marauders sat spread out across three separate couches, near the fire. Of course, the couch that James had claimed, was the one dubbed "Lily's Couch". No one bothered to tell him to move, as they knew that Lily would not mind if he sat there… James and Remus were engaged in a rousing game of Wizard's Chess, and the only sound in the room was the whispered commands of "Knight to B3" and such, and the cracking and breaking of the heavy marble figures.

Peter Pettigrew was watching the game, entranced, this being the only source of entertainment in the solemn weeks past. Currently, James was winning, but Remus always had a trick or two stored up his sleeve toward the end.

And Sirius was trying futilely to engage Raina Gilbert in conversation, on the couch closest the blazing fire. She was sitting on one end of the couch, her elbows on her knees, and her eyes trained on the fire, her thin face devoid of all emotion. And Sirius Black, was nervous. He hadn't dealt with a girl as intense as she, and so she utterly unnerved him. Her long hair was falling into her face, and her eyes held a look as if they were not seeing merely the fire, but some far-off place. _A place that wasn't particularly nice_… Sirius thought as she winced slightly.

After a few awkward minutes of silence, Sirius finally turned to face her, and spoke in a cautious voice. It was completely different from the cocky, arrogant voice that he used with the majority of Hogwart's population; but a softer voice, as if all of the confidence that swelled underneath his skin had been rapidly depleted.

"Er… How are you Raina? I mean, you look well… very well at that, " at this, Sirius stopped mid sentence, and his ears tinged pink as she finally turned her clear eyes toward him. The faraway look was gone from her eyes, replaced by a powerful gaze, which made Sirius fumble even more over his next words. " I mean… er, its just that I know that if any of my mate's parents died like that… I'm sure that I would be really upset, like you seem to be. It's just… It's just terrible, isn't it? To lose your family, I mean. Well, I really can't stand mine, but… I've met other parents like James', who really love their children. I know that Bri must miss them terribly. I'm… I'm sorry." he finished quietly, as he realized that she was still staring at him. Her eyes had clouded over, and her face was twisted up with something that Sirius could not describe.

"It's odd, isn't it? That people can just die like that. I mean, you go home for Christmas break, and they are there waiting for you at King's Cross… and then, only two months later you get the coldest note imaginable from the Ministry saying that they're dead. Just dead. I don't know how I would be able to deal with that. I mean, not about my family… but maybe about James'. Did you know that I ran away this summer? I went there, you know… And they just… they just ushered me in the door. Didn't ask any questions, no, they just told me to put my bags in the spare room next to James'… and pushed some warm food into my mouth of course," Sirius paused, smiling broadly.

"Its hard to count on people isn't it, Sirius?" Sirius looked up, surprised. This was the first time that Raina had even acknowledged him during the past few minutes. It was almost odd, hearing her voice, as it almost echoed through the empty room. He cleared his throat quietly, and tried his best to respond in a calm, even tone.

"Well... I guess so, in a way. People do die, I suppose that that is inevitable isn't it? And so you can't count on people to always be there. But you can depend on people to do their best to be there for you... for as long as they can. I guess its all a matter of trust, when you really think about it. Giving it and receiving it." He finished, his eyes trained on the pale girl beside him, half-expecting an answer. Raina looked up at him, and smiled a weak smile. The fire struck her eyes in such a way that they turned a darker shade blue, almost like a stormy sea; and the colour of her cheeks grew paler. There was something reminiscent in her eyes of a person witnessing a car crash, and it was frightening. Sirius found himself wondering, as she continued to stare at him, Who is this girl? Because at that moment, the girl before him did not seem at all like Raina Gilbert; but like someone else entirely.

----

"You must walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible. However, I will use all the magic arts I knows of to keep you from harm..."

--The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum.

----

**A/N: **I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to get this up. I'm not going to bore you with the details of why it took me a bloody month to update... because you probably don't want to know. Anyways, there is one question from a reviewer that I feel I must make the answer known; I am not now, nor going to in the future, discontinuing this story. I feel that that is just terrible to leave something unfinished. I actually enjoy writing this story very much, and I hope that you all enjoy reading it.

Thank you for reading and reviewing!

-Maia


	16. Hear No Evil

And so, Brianna Richards left Hogwarts the next morning. She stood at Hogsmeade station, shivering from the cold and rain, and held her carpetbag tightly in her pale hands. And when she was finally about to cry from the loneliness she felt inside; she was no longer alone. For you see, this morning there would be quite a few suspicious absences from various classes. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were missing their best students, and Professor Slughorn had to wait until later to hand out a few invitations to the next Slug Club dinner party. But these professors knew that it was a special circumstance for all of the missing Sixth Years, and so their absences went seemingly unnoticed. The students' sudden appearances during lunch in the Great Hall also went unnoticed, and they calmly waved away their petty excuses of catching a three-hour stomach bug, or something of the like. For all three had seen times such as these before, and knew what it was to lose someone, and to be afraid. Yes, even McGonagall. Brianna Richards needed all the support she could get, and if that meant that a few students would need to copy Frank Longbottom's note in the Commons that night; so be it.

----

"I'm worried about you Lily-kins." Lily lifted her head quickly at the sound. In the nearly empty Common Room, such a normal volume of voice seemed out of place. Like a red dress at a funeral, Sirius Black's voice stood out, and not in a good way. Suspicious eyes traveled to the tall, black-haired boy who stood next to Lily's armchair. Lily frowned slightly, and neglected to invite him to sit as her only response (or lack thereof) to his presence.

Sirius seemed to not notice her neglection, and merely sat himself down on the thick carpet at her feet. Stretching out on the floor, he rested his shaggy head on her pale, bare knees. Lily's frown deepened, but her eyes twinkles with amusement. Sirius was just infectious that way. Between the web of confusion that surrounded him, and the mysterious laugh that rested on his lips, you could get lost in Sirius Black.

"You've been mighty distant as of late Lily. James misses you." Lily's wan and weary face tinged pink at his words. Sirius saw this, smiled brightly, and continued. "It just hasn't been the same around classes, what with you barely speaking to us. _We all _miss your chatter." Lily smiled openly at this. Because there it was. In his own, quiet way, Sirius Black had just admitted something of great importance. The Marauders, not just James, missed her. He had missed her.

Now Lily knew where she stood with these four amazing boys she had met, and come to love so quickly. As it turned out, she was just as important to them, as they were to her. And that was a great comfort, in this world of grey mornings, silence, and suspicion.

And so, Lily and Sirius spent the rest of that night together, talking unabashedly about anything and everything under the Sun and the Moon. Except, of course, a certain insufferable messy-haired friend, and a certain pristine blond.

----

As the days passed following Brianna's departure, Hogwarts began to live again. The Common Rooms teetered on full capacity, the Great Hall at breakfast was no longer a solemn affair, and James Potter continued to charm the wondrous Lily Evans. But the Owl Post was still greeted with immeasurable amounts of fear, and children broke down in tears if they saw an unfamiliar owl flying their way. And yet, life and love moved on, at Hogwarts and everywhere else.

James was now officially past the border between taking a fancy, and becoming besotted. He would try his best to be kind and funny and charming wherever Lily was in hearing/sight distance. And even when she wasn't. James Potter found himself volunteering to tutor First Years in Transfiguration, picking up dropped books for Third Years, and not picking fights with Slytherin scum, like Severus Snape—even when provoked. _Lily Evans was getting to him._

And his friends took notice. As of late, they had (Sirius had) taken to calling him "whipped". Another favourite was "Nancy boy". This nickname arose when James was heading off to study in the Library with Lily one night. Sirius had brashly accused James of being a stick in the mud, _and_ a little Nancy boy. James, of course, as a recovering egotistical prat, had taken that as a wound against his masculinity, and had immediately agreed to Sirius' challenge. And now, James had a comeback to plan.

----

The night before Brianna Richard's return to Hogwarts, Lily was on Prefect patrol with a certain Remus Lupin. This was only the second time they had to patrol together since his confrontation in the Library, and she did not expect it to be any less awkward this time. It wasn't that Lily _disliked_ Remus or anything. It was just that, whether Lily liked, or wanted, to admit it, Remus had struck a nerve. On that day in the Great Library, over a month ago, Remus Lupin had came a little closer to the truth than even she allowed herself to go. And so, Lily had been trying to avoid him as much as possible.

But on these nights, when the stone corridors were empty and dark; the magic that slept in the very stones of this school, seemed to flare into life. Staircases moved without warning, the painted eyes of portraits followed your every move, and it was nearly impossible to feel safe in the hallowed halls. It was nights like these, in which it was impossible to forget the fact that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had a number of resident ghosts. And so, it as imperative that you at least tried to fill the silence sneaking thought the corridors like a lethifold, for fear that you would be silenced forever.

And so, when Lily heard Remus' soft, smiling voice, calling to her in the semi-darkness, she had to physically restrain herself from screaming. Remus emerged from the shadows, and smiled slightly at the sight that greeted him. Lily was standing stock still, her thin, pale fingers, tense around her mouth, suppressing a scream. A scream that surely would have woken the silence in the halls; and the rest of the school's occupants. But the flash of anger in her eyes at his smile, stopped him from letting out the chuckle that rested on his lips.

Walking quickly over to her, he muttered a sincere apology for frightening her. He didn't want to be the cause of yet another fight between Lily and James, especially not now, when the wheels were moving so quickly in the right direction. He couldn't take another sleepless night on account of James' frenzied muttering.

Beginning their walk through the castle, Remus and Lily tried to fill the silence with mindless chatter that was completely inconsequential. They were purposely avoiding any subject that was connected to James Potter, which left out a rather large portion of both of their lives. It seemed as if James Potter was one of the only things they had in common. Both Remus and Lily wondered what in the world they had spoken about before this whole mess began.

As the seconds ticked by, the pair found themselves without anything today. The silence swarmed around their moving bodies, infusing itself in their very blood. The creaking of floorboards and the swishing of their cloaks were the only sound that cut through the air. Finally, when it seemed as if they would never speak again, one word opened up an ocean of unspoken conversations.

"So," And maybe it was because the silence was too all-consuming. Or maybe it was because Lily suddenly needed to tell someone about these past whirlwind weeks. Or maybe, they were both just incredibly bored. Nevertheless, whatever the reason, Lily and Remus finally began to talk. Talk about James, talk about Brianna, fear, death; everything that Lily had been unable to talk about with Sirius, and everything she could never tell James--not yet anyway. This was what they spoke of during their two hour patrol through the stone corridors of Hogwarts. And since everything under the Sun and the Moon had already been said, I suppose you could say that Remus and Lily found themselves talking about everything under the rain clouds and the grey sky.

And that night, months of mixed feelings, misunderstandings, and confusion were cast out into the world like dust in the wind. And at the end of that witching hour, both of these Hogwarts Prefects felt lighter than they had all year. And neither noticed a black-haired boy creeping back to Gryffindor Tower from the seventh floor, hours after their patrol had ended. This night, their paths would not cross, and no friendly detentions would have to be awarded.

----

**A/N:** I know, I know. It's been forever since I've updated. But I just couldn't seem to get this chapter exactly the way I wanted it. It wasn't exactly writer's block… it was more like having a bunch of ideas flying haphazardly at my head, and not knowing what to do with them. Also, I am completely and whole-heartedly a procrastinator. I just couldn't seem to find the time to write. Well I hope you like it, even though it isn't very long. Look out for another silly one-shot that I quite like. I'm playing with the idea of naming it Whistling. But that shouldn't be up for another couple of days.

Love.

--Maia


	17. Afterglow

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers.

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

Chapter 17: Afterglow 

The next morning, Brianna Richards was welcomed back into Hogwarts' hallowed halls with open arms. Specifically, the open arms of her three best friends. Also awaiting her in the Great hall was a gigantic banner proclaiming, "WELCOME BACK BRI" in bright, gaudy, bold print. It was hung across the width of the Hall, and as she stepped underneath it, a caseload of Dr. Filibuster's No Heat, Wet Start Fireworks exploded in her wake. She smiled her first true smile in weeks, and silently thanked the beaming, scruffy-haired Marauder whom she knew was behind this whole mess. This wonderful, happy, gorgeous, mess.

----

James Earl Potter, recently having restored his Marauder status in the Great Hall was walking on air. And not because his prank had gone off without a hitch. No, what was making him so delightfully happy now, was what had happened after the fireworks had gone off right on cue he might add. Lily had shot him a knowing look from beside an awe-struck Brianna. Knowing that he had been caught red-handed, he had offered her a sheepish grin and down-turned eyes. Shockingly though, Lily had not scolded him, rather, she actually thanked him quietly with a smile and a whisper for his efforts. And for some inexplicable reason, that one smile and whisper of thanks, had made the weeks spent in preparation, and the renegade excursion to Hogsmeade where he had nearly gotten his head bitten off by the irritable owner of a small dog he had tripped over in his haste; worth it.

----

"Then must you strive to be worthy of her love. Be brave and pure, fearless to the strong and humble to the weak; and so, whether this love proper or no, you will have fitted yourself to be honored by a maiden's love, which is, in sooth, the highest guerdon which a true knight can hope for."

--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

----

If there was one specific thing that James had learnt about Lily Evans during the months that they had spent getting to know one another and being friends, it was that she had a glow about her, wherever she went. It was indescribable, though utterly unmistakable. It was obvious in the way that she walked, in the way that she spoke, even in the way she laughed. And her smile, well her smile might just have been her best feature. It was small, cautious, sly at first, but would almost always blossom into a full-blown grin that seemed to reflect every ounce of good inside her. Needless to say, it was a rather beautiful smile.

And this irreplaceable, unmistakable, undeniable glow that surrounded Lily Evans, could never have been more blatantly apparent than in the days following Brianna's return to Hogwarts. She laughed, her most tinkling laugh, from dawn 'till dusk, and seemed to be almost ridiculously happy. And from what James could figure; she truly was. And in those beautiful weeks in which she was so ridiculously happy, James came to realize that he had begun to feed off of her happiness. The happier she was, the happier he was. And so Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry became the home to two, ridiculously happy Sixth Years, and thrived on the afterglow.

For, it was their irreplaceable, unmistakable, undeniable afterglows that kept Hogwarts alive in the dreary month of March

----

It was a Wednesday. A would-be-gloomy Wednesday, with rain clouds smothering the sky. The trees in the Forbidden Forest were owing to one another in a strange dryad dance, and the bluebirds came to call on each other's homely abodes. The seek stone steps leading out of Hogwarts Castle were slippery and wet with dew, and the sky was a mix of pale yellow, blue, and grey. All in all, it was a day positively bristling with discovery.

----

Lily Evans and James Potter were walking comfortably back to Hogwarts after their final class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures. They were talking gaily about today's lesson in which Professor Kettleburn had set fire to Hagrid's pumpkin patch while attempting t to satiate a large group of flame-loving salamanders; and whether they thought their current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be returning next year. James thoroughly doubted it, as he strongly believed that it was a cursed position.

"Mark my words Lily, Professor Dumbledore will be searching for a new professor this holiday; you just wait." He said teasingly. He certainly hoped that his prediction was right, as their current professor had an exceedingly annoying habit of assigning copious amounts of homework to her Sixth Year NE.W.T. classes. Then, taking a few moments to pluck up enough courage to ask her the question that had been waiting patiently on his tongue for the better part of a fortnight, he took a few deep breathes, stopped in his tracks, and spoke. "Er…Lily? I won't be offended in the slightest – thought I may have to jump off of the Astronomy Tower – if you don't want to do what I'm about to ask you to do." He said, taking a deep gulp of air and swallowing noisily, attempting to keep a playful look on his face. Lily smiled as well, mentally bracing herself for his next words. Like the last time he had wanted to ask her a question, Lily found her mind racing a second, trying to figure out what her answer would be. Finally, as James seemed ready to speak once more, and her mind was approaching the finish line; a clap of thunder roared above them and all thoughts of questions and answers were lost.

James smiled, and pulled Lily close to him under the shelter of his large coal-coloured cloak. As the rain began to tall down upon their backs, all either of them could do was smile, as they stood in a weather-drenched embrace. And as they stood there, together, James knew that the look of Lily Evans in the rain, her eyes turned toward the grey skies, would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life.

----

In the past few months, Lily's hair had grown at least four inches. It now hung below her small shoulders in thick, curling ribbons of auburn. Except for now. Now, her hair was drenched from the rain and sticking to her white oxford uniform shirt, underneath James' cloak. Her feet were the only dry part of her by now, which were secure in a pair of green Wellington boots that she had put on in a fit of inspiration that morning. Her face was smudged and pale, as the sky seemed to open up on top of them, washing away all of her vanity. It was amazing to her how, one minute; a place could be so calm, quiet, and dry. Now, it seemed as if the very air was swarming with sound and movement, and the rain fed the desires of all kinds of life. Even her own.

Silently, Lily pulled away slightly from the embrace, and motioned for James to follow her with her pale, guileless, hand. Minutes later, after trudging lightly through the life-ridden grasses, they found themselves sitting on a rock overlooking the Great Lake. It was cold and wet, so Lily found herself curling toward James' heat, his chin resting reassuringly atop her soaking wet head. Sitting there, in the very eye of the storm it seemed, everything was suddenly startlingly clear. Her vision was seemingly laser-perfect, and every sound was loud and heard. The frogs were digging their way out of their underground wintery homes, finally coming up to breathe the air. The golden fish in the water were collecting near the surface as if trying to taste the excitement rushing through the gale-like winds. Next to her, she could even hear the soft, slightly ragged breathing of James. Out of all the sounds that her newly hypersensitive ears could hear right now, this was by far the best.

Somehow, sitting there with James on that weather-beaten rock in the cold, harsh rain, made her feel as if she was finally emerging as well. Coming up to breathe the air.

---

"Jiggle it a little, it'll open."

--Pinky and the Brain

---

Hope you liked it, and sorry it took so long. I love you guys for reading… :D

See you in a month or two! I know I'm terrible, but please don't bail on me!

Love to all my patient readers and reviewers?

-Maia


	18. Faerie Dust

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers.

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**Chapter 18: **Faerie Dust

When, a week later, James Potter finally got around to asking Lily that question that he had been so nervous about, it turned out to not be what she had expected at all. In fact, she was so bewildered by the unexpected question that she had automatically said yes. Which turned out not to be such a bad thing, as she was now going to accompany him and Sirius home for the Easter holiday. With this surprising change in plans, Lily was quick to scribble off a note to her mother, explaining where exactly she would be spending her holiday. Luckily, her mother was just as excited as she was.

Which was quite excited indeed. Lily did not know if she had ever looked forward to Easter more than this year, and it was not _entirely_ because of the Quaffle-size Easter eggs she had been promised before James had run away after acquiring her affirmative answer.

Spending some time with James over the holiday seemed like the best idea she could ever think up. She didn't exactly know why, but it was as if her whole life was beginning to revolve around James the Sun. And it didn't exactly scare or upset her either.

Sometimes, Lily got this feeling around James that she couldn't fully describe. It was just there, comforting, and there. Somehow, it was almost like the feeling you get the night before Christmas, lying in bed as a child. You know that something amazing is waiting for you downstairs in the morning, so it is nearly impossible to sleep. That's how Lily felt whenever she was around James; entirely full of excitement and energy, almost like a small child. She feared absently that someday he would realize that she was acting completely like a five-year-old, and go out and find a more mature friend. But somehow, it was always Christmas Eve between the two of them.

"Something's waiting for us, can't you feel it?"

----

When it was finally the night before the Easter holiday would begin, Lily found herself packing everything in sight. Of course, in perfect Lily fashion, she had left her packing to the night before, and was now paying for it soundly. Running about the dormitory, searching for matching socks, she was quite a sight to see. Luckily, only one other person was present to see her play the fool. Brianna was sitting on her bed, her eyes trained on Lily scurrying about the room.

All of a sudden, Brianna spoke in a level, would-be-calm tone. "I'm going to miss you guys over the holidays." Lily bolted upwards, her arms full of trainers and scales on the way to her trunk. Of course Brianna would be staying at Hogwarts, how daft could she have been to forget that. _And just after her parents died too, I can't just leave her here alone._

Lily dropped her things abruptly, ran over to give Brianna a quick, loving hug, and left the room as quick as a snitch, closing the door behind her. Turning into the staircase that led to the boy's dormitories, Lily took a deep breath, and readied herself. She had never been in the boy's half of the dormitories before, and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. But she knew that even though it would probably kill her, she had to stay at Hogwarts this holiday, she couldn't just leave Brianna here on her own.

When she finally reached the Sixth Year boy's dormitories, she stood outside for a moment before knocking quietly on the door. She heard shuffling and rearranging, and even a tumble or two before Sirius finally opened the door a moment or two later. At first he looked surprised, then his infectious grin spread across his face. "Here to see Jamsie, popkin?" he said playfully, standing lazily in the doorframe. Lily found herself smiling as well, and nodded. She gave him a playful shove, and spoke in a sultry manner.

"Yes Sirius dahling… _I just couldn't stay away!_" Sirius smiled, and invited her in as gracefully as a boy born to class could do in such as situation. Lily smiled again, before stepping into the dormitory. In hindsight, the room wasn't actually any more messy than her own, but in the moment, Lily did not even notice how the dormitory looked. She was too busy scanning the room for James. Luckily for her, Sirius called out to him in his loud, raucous voice.

"OI! Jamsie! Your ladylove is here… If you don't hurry I might just have to entertain her myself!" Lily laughed out loud, and smiled as she saw James run into the room from some adjoining one, slightly out of breath and panting. He smiled at the sight of her, and raked his messy coal fringe out of his eyes. He walked over to her, only stumbling once on a haphazardly placed cauldron, and invited her into the dormitory.

Lily smiled gently, and laughed inwardly at how strangely shy he was acting in his room. He led her over to what was obviously his bed, what with the Chudley Cannons posters and Quidditch paraphernalia. As they sat, Lily took a deep breath. The ensuing conversation would probably disappoint both of them, but Lily had a responsibility to her friends, and Brianna needed her.

"So what brings you here Lily? Wanted to continue our debate as to whether the house-elves have changed the recipe for the butter biscuits?" He said smilingly. Lily laughed quietly, remembering their previous "discussion" in the Common Room that had drawn more than a few questioning looks from their peers. Then, stilling her laughter, she turned to him with a resigned look on her face. He frowned in anticipation of her next words.

"James… I'm really sorry about this, but I—I just can't go home with you over the holidays. It's not that I don't want to—I really want to—but Brianna would be here all alone over the holiday. I just can't do that to her, not now. I'm really sorry." James looked at her tortured form, bright eyes downcast, a look of disappointment spread across her temple. And though he was disappointed, he realized that he just couldn't let her beat herself up about this, especially since she was doing the right thing. Reaching out to her face, he gently smoothed the tension from between her eyes and turned her chin upward to look at him.

"Don't you worry about a thing Lily…Sirius will keep me company. I really admire what you're doing for Brianna, and I'm sure she will really appreciate it. She definitely needs you more right now than I do. Don't feel bad Lily." He finished quietly. Lily looked at him, still shocked from his touch. For some reason, him reaching out and smoothing her features seemed like the single most intimate gesture that had ever been directed at her, and so all she could do in answer to his reassurances, was nod.

----

"I'm jumping off the deep end.

You've become my best friend.

I wanna love you

But I don't know if I can."

--Coldplay, X&Y

----

Over the Easter holiday, in the absence of James, Lily did little else but think of him, while she was not occupied with Brianna. When she had heard that Lily would be staying at Hogwarts with her, first she had been indignant that Lily would cancel her plans because of her, but had almost immediately shirked this façade and given Lily an extra long hug. Though she didn't like to admit it, Brianna loved that Lily—anyone—would care enough about her to stay with her in the dark and lonely castle over the holidays.

James wrote Lily nearly every day, and she was constantly on the lookout for his tawny owl in the mornings at breakfast in the Great Hall. His messy, tight scrawl became as familiar to her as her own penmanship, and she ended up giving his owl more Honeydukes' Out-of-the-Ordinary Owl Treats than her own, for she saw him far more often. But even though she heard from him nearly every day, Lily found herself missing his lopsided grin, and loud, easy laugh. The highlight of her vacation was on Easter morning, when she was awoken by taps at her window by his owl, bearing one of the infamous Quaffle-size Eater eggs.

Needless to say, Lily was extremely excited when the vacation was over, as it meant that James would be returning to the castle. And to her.

----

The night that the rest of the student body returned to Hogwarts was a joyous one, full of reunions and story swapping among friends. Perhaps the most excited student in Hogwarts was one Lily Evans, who had spent nearly half the day preparing for the scarlet train to arrive in Hogsmeade station, thus bringing back all of her friends to her—namely James. Though she would never admit it under threat of the _cruciatus curse_, Lily had spent hours rifling through her wardrobe like a niffler, searching for the perfect outfit, and almost an equally exorbitant amount of time doing her hair. The result was a natural, "I-just-threw-this-on-yet-I-am-exceedingly-beautiful"-look that comprised of a pair of worn-in jeans, a large, cozy grey jumper, and her Gryffindor scarf. Her long hair hung down her back in loose ringlets, and her face glowed with the excitement of a bride. All in all, when she ran up to greet James at Hogsmeade station, all he could think of was that she had somehow grown more beautiful while they had been apart. And he considered that to be a feat worthy of a Triwizard champion.

----

Later that night in the Common Room, Gryffindor students were gathering in their small clusters, laughing, joking, and having a great time together after the time they had spent apart. In this dark time where nothing was certain, it was a great and amazing thing to be with people you loved, and every time you saw them was a blessing.

Curled up on "Lily's Couch" by the fire were Lily and James talking, laughing, sharing stories, like any other group of people in the crowded room. But for some reason, it was completely different. For some reason, even the lightest of jokes or repartee held some deeper meaning, some hidden weight that only the two of them could feel. Any outsider listening in would only hear two friends, catching up after a week apart. But to the both of them, every witty comment seemed to carry the burden of the world.

Absently, Lily realized that she had been waiting all week for this… just this. Just sitting here in front of the fire, talking to James. Just talking to him, being around him, brought it's own kind of happiness to her, and she couldn't imagine what she had done for the entire holiday. It wasn't that she did not enjoy Brianna's company; it was just that there was a lot of down time between the two of them. With James, every moment was a new possibility.

And James was no less entranced by Lily, as she was by him. He relished every moment he had with her, and treated it like something incredibly precious. If nothing was to ever grow between the two of them beyond friendship, he thought he would be okay with that, so long as he would still be able to have nights like this with her by his side.

As they spoke, a colour flashed into Lily's cheeks and stayed there, and James' hand was nearly always embedded in his messy hair. There was that faerie dust layer of excitement that coated their tongues, their throats, slipping to their stomachs and filling them up with honey-flavored longings. And when they finally bid each other goodnight, neither of them noticed that they were the last ones in the Common Room, so that even the fire was dying down to it's last, golden ember.

----

"Gravity cannot be held responsible for people falling in love."

--Albert Einstein

----

**A/N:** Well, this was quick wasn't it? I don't know. The T.V. is kind of screwy up her in New Hampshire, so I don't have much else to do. Also, it doesn't help that all of my friends are back in New York (if you guys are reading this, I miss and love all of you!). So this baby popped out in less than three days! Amazing huh? Well, in other news, I changed the genre to Romance/General because I just didn't think this story qualified as "Humor"… not that I don't laugh at all of my own jokes!

By the way, the whole James-smoothing-out-her-tension-line thing was taken from Girls In Pants by Ann Brashares… I thought it was the sweetest thing I had ever read!

I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you review!

Love always,

-Maia


	19. Red Zeppelin

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not now, nor have I ever been JK Rowling, and therefore, any and every character, place, object, or spell you may recognize does not belong to me. I have no money (I'm going to see JKR on Wednesday at Radio City Music Hall and I need my birthday money for souvenirs!) so don't bother suing me!

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**Chapter 19:** Red Zeppelin

It seemed that Jack Frost had finally relinquished his hold on the world of Hogwarts School. Instead of cold, icy rain, and ominous clouds filling the grey sky, the world was now brighter, greener. The sky even seemed to hold a greenish tint in honour of the season. Bugs and birds and bees and all sorts of animals (magical and rather ordinary), flew and jumped and ran and sang through every inch, every centimeter of space in the ground, air, or water. There were moments filled with noise, so loud with buzzing and singing and chirping and barking, so that it seemed as if it would never be quiet again, as if you had never been alone before. In these moments, the very Sun crackled and spun, faster and faster in the green-hued expanse, while birds soared higher and higher, testing the sky's limit. It was as if new life had been breathed into each and every one of their souls, and nothing could keep them from expanding farther and farther, wider and wider, lifting like great red Zeppelins into the blue.

--

While the majority of the school's population was lounging out on the grasses and rocks of the grounds, Lily Evans was inside revising in the Gryffindor Common Room. It wasn't that the beautiful day outside the stone windows wasn't calling out to her like a toddler wishing to be picked up; yet she was a paranoid girl, and she couldn't help but answer the call of her textbooks instead. For you see, end-of-term exams were coming quickly, and though Lily always received the highest of grades (Os on everything of course, the occasional wayward E sent her practically over the edge…), she always got ridiculously nervous around exam time. And so, here she was on this pleasant Spring day, stuck in the Commons, occasionally staring longingly out through the windows at the shining Lake.

Lily sighed, rearranged her papers and books, and straightened her clothing. She had donned loose, baggy, striped white and navy shorts along with her school shirt before leaving her dormitory early that morning, and was sitting with her bare-feet up on the squashy orange couch by the fireplace. Her hair was loose in big curls surrounding her shoulders, and one pesky bunch kept falling back into her eyes as she tried to continue reading the large tome on the goblin rebellion of 1904.

Lily sighed again, and huffed. _Could this be any more dull?_ she silently asked herself. She had been sitting here for going on three hours, and she was about ready to quit. The only thing stopping her was the continual reminder of the looming term's-end exams. And so, once again, she pulled her tired green eyes away from the window, and settled them, forcefully, upon her books.

_The Goblin Rebellion of 1904 is shrouded in mystery._

_Much speculation surrounds the causes of the rebel-_

_lion, and no true conclusions have been drawn desp-_

_ite many years of dutiful research on the part of Go-_

_blin enthusiasts' everywhe—_

Suddenly, Lily's purposeful reading was halted by a smooth laugh from the far corner of the room. She looked up, surprised that anyone would be inside on such a brilliant day, and then sighed once again. For the person who had chuckled at the sight of her, frazzled and dutifully revising on the sofa, was none other than James Potter. Of course.

He walked over to her place on the couch, and sat at her feet, placing them on his lap. He smiled lop-sidedly at her, and gestured playfully to her open books. It was obvious that he thought she was mad to be inside on such a day, especially inside _revising_.

"Don't you dare say one word James. I know none of you understand in the slightest why I would be revising 'so far away from the exams', but I can assure you I have my reasons." She said with her, I-am-a-Prefect-so-don't-bother-me tone. James knew better than to argue with such a tone, especially when it was in use by Lily, and so he did not argue at all. Instead, he acted on an impulse that had been vying for surface in the depths of his brain since he had entered the room and seen her tired and wan face trying desperately to ignore the day outside. After all, he was her friend, and he had to do what was best for her.

And so, without any hesitation, James stood up, unceremoniously grabbed Lily, threw her over his shoulder, and proceeded to carry her out of the Gryffindor Common Room and down the stone steps. He walked quickly and purposefully, as though perfectly unaware that him carrying Lily Evans through the corridors of Hogwarts, her screaming bloody murder and kicking his chest, would seem odd to anyone. And so, as he walked, he stopped to nod politely at any passing teacher, and offered a wave and a smile to any wayward student left inside the castle. Some brave students even offered a "hello" to Lily, who, by the time they had reached the third floor, had given up any pretense of yelling and putting up a fight, and was now sulking ungracefully down James' back. Sometimes, if you looked very closely, you would even see a smile grace her face for a moment—no, a second—in time, which would then disappear so as to not give the messy-haired boy the satisfaction.

Yet somehow, James seemed to know that he had done something right, many hours later, as he and Lily walked hand in hand back up to the castle after a long and fun-filled day on the grounds. It was dark, but neither of them seemed to mind, as both of them were just caught up in the loveliness of the night. As the stone castle beckoned them to dinner and late-night conversations in the Commons once more, neither could think of a time when they had felt so satisfied.

--

"So d'you reckon you're going to need some help revising tomorrow?" James asked in a would-be-calm manner. Lily looked up from her lap in surprise. In the many years of pre-exam revising mania, no one had actually willingly offered to revise with her. She usually spent hours holed up in the depths of the Library, pouring over large tomes filled with more information than she would ever need to know for the exams; alone. Always alone. Once, in Third Year, Raina had been coerced and bullied into tagging along, but it had been to no avail. Within an hour, she had slipped off for a drink of water, and wasn't seen nor heard from for the rest of the day. Needless to say, it had been a failed experiment, and Lily hadn't tried again. So now, after he had carried her (literally) away from her studies that very morning, Lily was not entirely wrong to be surprised to find James Potter offering to revise with her the next day.

"Are you quite sure you know what you are saying James? It's not just the sun getting to your head? I told you that we were out there too long…" Lily mused absently, with a slightly bemused look on her face, which James returned, looking rather sheepish.

"Well, I—Er—just thought that since I had thwarted your studies this morning, that I might as well try to make it up to you, and study a bit myself in the bargain." Lily smiled at the grinning, messy-haired boy beside her, and sighed once more. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she turned toward him with a bracing edge to her posture.

"James. I hope you know what you are asking for here. I am an incredibly paranoid and odd person when it comes to revising, and I do not plan to leave the Library for many hours. I will leave my dormitory at exactly 7:30, and will go directly to the Library. I am not usually nice, nor fair-tempered during these study sessions, and so if you would like to back out now, I would not blame you. I would not even be disappointed actually. No one has ever lasted a revising session with me before, and I do not fully expect you to. Still want to go?" She said with a wink, trying her very best to keep the McGonagall-like, thin-lipped frown on her face, but failing miserably at the sight of his overly eager eyes.

"I'll do it Sergeant Evans. See you at 7:30 sharp," he squeezed her knee, and stood up to leave the Commons. On his way up the steps, he grabbed the rail and swung around to face her once more. "By the way Evans; I fully intend on being the first to survive 'Studying with Tiger Lily'. See you then!" And he swung off up the stairs, whistling an army tune.

Lily smiled to herself, and shook her head at the amazing foolishness of some people.

--

"Your chances of getting hit by lightening go up if you stand under a tree, shake your fist at the sky, and say "STORMS SUCK!"

--Johnny Carson

--

The next morning, Lily awoke to the sound of her buzzing alarm clock on her bedside table. It was a quarter-past seven, and so Lily only had fifteen minutes with which to get ready to leave. She hastened out of bed, tiptoed into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.

While in the shower, Lily despaired as to how she was ever going to get her feet clean again, as James had carried her out of the castle without shoes the previous day. Because of this she had spent the entire day outside on the Hogwarts grounds barefoot, because no one would let her anywhere near the castle, for fear she would go in and never come out again. Brushing her hair down her back, Lily laughed at the look on James' face, when, in the previous afternoon, she had pushed him directly into the Lake, from atop the rock they had been lounging upon. He had been so surprised, and even happy about this, as this action deemed her, as he put it, "one of us!" in regards to the Marauders. Lily had blushed, and waved it away as nothing, but truthfully, it had been a great honor for Lily to be included in a group that was obviously so important to James. Finishing up, Lily turned off the scalding water, and grabbed her fluffy towel from the table beside the shower.

Stepping out of the steamy fog after only minutes inside, Lily scrambled to the mirrored cabinet over the sink. Pushing random bottles out of the way, she found her face cream and some detangler. Applying these while moving back into the dormitory, Lily tripped over a wayward shoe, obviously belonging to Tessa, as it was covered in Muggle cartoon characters. Recovering herself, Lily hobbled over to her wardrobe on her good foot, and stood on that foot in front of it. Reaching inside, Lily pulled out a blue oxford shirt, brown shorts, and a large cream-coloured cable-knit jumper. Pulling these on as fast as she could, Lily grabbed her old, worn, brown leather cowboy boots, and slipped them on as she slung her pack full of books and parchment over her shoulder. Glancing at the clock, Lily saw that she still had about two minutes to spare, and so she stopped at her desk on the way out to put on a bit of mascara.

Running out of the dormitory as the clock struck seven thirty, Lily was quite pleased with herself that she had made it out on time, especially with only fifteen minutes with which to get ready. Unfortunately, her pleased expression abruptly left her face as she saw who was waiting for her in the Commons. For it was none other than James bloody Potter, holding a platter of doughnuts and muffins by the fireplace, a cocky grin about his face.

--

**A/N: **Thank you all for your great reviews on the last chapter. They were all immensely encouraging, and I hope that this chapter has come out with enough speed as to placate you all. Not quite as quick as last time, and it definitely did not comply with a competition set out by one of my reviewers, stating that I should write this chapter in four seconds or less. Sadly, my review reply took longer to type, and so I had to forfeit that competition. Thank you all for all of your reviews, and please continue because they really do help me get going with the next chapter…

Love and Thanks!

-Maia

P.S.: This is a belated birthday present for Harry Potter!


	20. A Bolt From The Blue

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't claim to be J.K. Rowling, but I do worship her. So yes, everything is hers. Explanations at the bottom for the long wait. Thanks for reading...

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**Chapter 20: **A Bolt From The Blue

It was as a four-legged snake, a fish in the sky, or a cat in a pond. The sight of James Potter, ready and waiting for her in the Commons, was a sight that she could never have anticipated or even hoped for.

Needless to say, Lily was shocked. Shocked, flabbergasted, thrown for a loop, and utterly confused. Now, she had noticed the major changes James Potter had undergone in the past few months, yet she never suspected that they had been so complete as to create the change she now saw before her. Not only was James Potter awake, alert, and ready to revise--he had brought a peace offering of her favourite breakfast sweets as well. This was something wholly unprecedented and unheard of. Any other hapless soul she had brought with her to revise for exams had arrived at least fifteen minutes later than she had required, and would finally emerge from their dorm with sleep still covering their eyes as a warm blanket, and their clothes illy buttoned and mostly comprised of pajamas with unmistakably bed-headed hair.

Walking resolutely towards her, James pulled his free arm around her rigid frame, and directed her through the portrait hole, all the while guiding her shoulders with his firm grip. In this manner--him, with a grin wider than ever before stretched across his face, and her, eyes still opened wide in bewilderment and easily following his direction--James Potter and Lily Evans headed towards the Great Library, ready to meet their day, and whatever might come to pass.

--

As James sat himself next to Lily at her favourite secluded mahogany desk in the depths of the Library, he laughingly remembered the great effort he had put in to create the rude awakening that Lily had been met with only moments before. He had awoken at just past six that morning, an hour previously unknown to him, and forced himself into a freezing cold shower that pulsed all of his nerves and cells into animated life. Pulling on a set of clothes, James had then ran out of his dorm, still filled with his sleeping mates, with his pack falling off his back. Bribing the house elves in the Kitchens, James had then procured all of Lily's favourite treats, including, of course, tomato juice. And though he may have looked calm, cool, and collected when Lily finally emerged at half-past-seven; in all truth, James had just artfully composed himself by the fireplace seconds before her descent of the Girls' stairs. The cocky grin that had graced his features was there only in the afterglow of his plan coming to fruition--He had successfully surprised his girl.

--

"There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential."  
_-Rusty Berkus_

_--_

They sat for hours, quizzing each other, and reading aloud old facts from older tomes, searching for answers to questions they would never understand. The plate of treats dwindled over the hours and minutes and seconds, as they picked and nibbled and finally noshed on their favourite things. Lily laughed as she noticed the tomato juice, knowing that she had never told James about her partiality towards it, knowing that he must have found out on his own. James laughed as well, knowing that he had truly done right.

Once, during a break in her studies, Lily turned her eyes toward James, watching him scribble notes on his slightly crumpled parchment. His concentration was wondrous... He did not break his line of scrawled words, and only stopped to turn the pages of the text in front of him. She had never seen someone, besides herself, sit and read with such application, and certainly not the James Potter she had known in previous years. He had been more likely to be scrawling notes to his fellow Marauders or sending troublesome spells at unsuspecting Slytherinn, than actually applying himself to the task at hand. _What has gotten into him? _She wondered to herself as she turned back to her work.

Nearly half and hour later, James set his quill to rest, and put his head on his right hand, using the other to gently poke Lily's arm as she wrote. She looked up and smiled at him, welcoming the distraction from a terribly boring passage in her book on Wizard-Muggle Relations in 15th century Spain.

"So Lily, d'you reckon Raina'll ever accept Sirius?" He pondered aloud with a questioning brow, lazily drawing small figures and doodles on the corner of his page.

Lily started, dropping the ink-covered quill she had been holding. She had known, of course, that Sirius fancied Raina, from her conversation all those nights ago with Remus, but she had never given it a second thought. It had seemed preposterous to her that Sirius Black, the aristocratic icon that he was, would be interested in her friend. Pushing more attention to the subject now forced her to realize that it did not seem _so_ ridiculous, as Raina had always been the most popular of the four friends with the attentions of their male classmates. And she was, of course, a fantastic person, and one of Lily's best friends. Still, she couldn't really see them together.

Not wanting to hurt James' feelings, she answered in a noncommittal tone, "It's possible, I suppose." Turning her green eyes back to her work, she shrugged.

James gently pulled her face back up to him, "Tell me the truth, Lily. I know you think that Sirius is a bit of a wolf... but trust me, he really seems to like your friend. You'd be surprised; Remus is more of a wolf than ol' Sirius these days." He said with a wry smile. "It seems that you being around has changed more than _one_ of us Marauders..."

Lily sighed, knowing that she had passed the point where she could actually keep things, even little things, from James. He just knew her too well. Fixing her eyes back on his, she was surprised by the intensity that quickly replaced the gaiety in his eyes. The weight of his last words finally hit her. It had been her, not anything else--not school, or the growing war around them, nor his imminent coming of age--that had inspired this change in him. It was this enormous, yet truly simple, last revelation that broke the dam and made up her mind in its entirety. And without another thought, Lily's lips crushed against James' and all was illuminated.

--

"Tell me whom you love and I will tell you who you are."  
_-Houssaye_

--

It was that day in the Library that changed it all: changed it for the future, changed it for the past, changed it for the present; changed the wizarding world and their own personal worlds. As they sat together in that sunlit Room, their thoughts commingled and became one. They had talked and laughed, sat in silence and read, smiled knowingly and smiled without guile, and had finally, looked into each others eyes. And just as the night in the Owlery had connected their gaze and transformed them into friends--it was this locking of sight that turned them into lovers.

There are few moments in one's life that truly define you. Whether it is a great success, an achievement, a marriage, or a graduation--none can surmount the finding of one's love. It is a moment that is felt throughout one's entirety; through one's blood, veins, head, arms, and... heart. Pulse quickens, blush forms, eyes sparkle, and heart meets heart; lips meet lips. But despite its great importance, it is rare for one to ever have the capacity of pinpointing the exact moment of the fall. It is as a shooting star, a diving girl, a nuclear explosion, a car crash, a flash of lightning, or an opening flower. One may never know the moment of creation, nor the point of beginning. One may only know the feeling that comes after--washing over bodies and minds and consciousness, enveloping all that was and is and will ever be.

So, days, months, years, and even seconds after their momentous fall, neither Lily Evans nor James Potter would ever be able to say or know the moment they became one. But they had, and they felt it, and it was something that no one, and no thing, not even death, could take away.

Fin

--**A/N:** Hello everyone, if there is even anyone reading this two years after the fact. Its been a very long while and I know this. Nearly two years since I last penned this story. I'm not sure if this is the end, or the beginning of my little story, but it is _something_, and something after two years of _nothing_, really is something to talk about. I was just thinking about fanfiction the other day, and I remembered this story I had left alone so long ago. And I went back and read some of my reviews, and then I read my story. The reviews were so encouraging--and I felt a little guilty. Not because anyone in particular would be too upset if I never finished The Subject of Inkbottles_, _but because I, myself, had promised that it would never be discontinued and that I would finish what I had started. So here you go, whoever may read this, here's my second try...

Love,

Maia


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